From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Nov 2 20:12:20 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 02 Nov 1998 20:12:20 Subject: Mumia Abu Jamaml Message-ID: God Bless You! -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 3 08:29:45 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 03 Nov 1998 08:29:45 Subject: Again hungerstrike in Turkish jail Message-ID: 2 November,1998 Hunger strike starts in Erzurum Prison IHD warns: 'If no solution is found, hunger strikes may spread to other prisons' Ankara - Turkish Daily News Fifty prisoners in a high-security prison in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum have gone on a hunger strike demanding better prison conditions, a human rights official said Sunday. Osman Baydemir of the Human Rights Association (IHD) told the Turkish Daily News that if no solution is found, hunger strikes may spread to other prisons. "They are demanding that they be allowed to return to their wards, that their injured friends be treated at proper hospitals, that legal action be taken against wardens in relation to Thursdays incidents and that no such attacks take place in the future," Baydemir said. "We asked the prisoners not to take suicidal actions, such as burning themselves, and prison authorities thanked us for this," Baydemir added. This year three prisoners, convicted of being PKK members, died after setting themselves on fire. A senior prison official, meanwhile, said the protest was not justified and that it was being organized from outside. "The prisoners' real aim is to stay on the country's agenda," prison governor Numan Eroglu told the Anatolian news agency. Twenty-six prisoners and an unspecified number of guards were injured during fighting which broke out during a protest by inmates against the Turkish State Security Courts (DGM), rights officials say. Earlier in the year, Turkish political prisoners started boycotting their hearings at the DGMs after a European Court of Human Rights ruling that said the courts were not independent or unbiased. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Nov 5 11:31:52 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 05 Nov 1998 11:31:52 Subject: Turkey: 27 people arrested on suspicion of planning attacks Message-ID: ANKARA, 5 nov (AFP) - Turkish police arrested 27 alleged members of an extreme leftist illegal organization on suspicion of planning attacks on the Turkish intelligence service (MIT), the Anatolia news agency reported Thursday. The suspects who are alleged to be members of Revolutionary Popular Liberation Front (DHKP-C) were arrested last week in Ankara and accused of plotting attacks against MIT offices in Ankara. They will be tried at the State Security Court in Ankara. The police said explosives and some documents have also been seized in several houses situated at different parts of the capital. The DHKP-C, a faction of Dev-Sol (Revolutionary Left) and an urban guerilla group, has been very active at the beginning of 1990's. It is known to have killed many members of the security forces as well as retired generals and a former minister of Justice. (...) List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sat Nov 7 07:04:03 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 07 Nov 1998 07:04:03 Subject: Turkey: still no Union-members allowed in Parliament Message-ID: Nov. 06 Ankara - Turkish Daily News Bayram Meral, chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Turk-Is), criticized the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission's rejection of the draft law proposing an amendment of the Constitution's 82nd article, the Anatolia news agency reported. In a written statement, Meral said that barring labor union members from becoming parliamentarians, as stated in the 82nd article, is upsetting and wrong. The 82nd article of the current Constitution was passed by the military administration following the Sept. 12 coup in 1980, despite resistance from labor unions and other nongovernmental organizations. The statement went on to say that the 82nd article of the Constitution is an obstacle to a well-functioning democracy, and that even though all political parties had promised to pass a law to amend the 82nd article, the draft bill was struck down by the Constitutional Commission. According to Meral this shows that some politicians still support the legal mentality of the military administration of the Sept. 12 coup. Meral claimed that deputies who voted against the amendment of the 82nd article proved their hostility towards workers and labor unions. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Nov 8 05:18:41 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 08 Nov 1998 05:18:41 Subject: Weekly attacks at Turkish Saterdaymothers and Human Rights defenders Message-ID: IZMIR Yesterday (November 7, 1998) the Saturday Mothers were again prevented from carrying out their action on Konak Square. Yesterday in the Izmir office of the IHD (Human Rights Association) a three- day hunger strike was started in protest against the attacks on the newspaper Kurtulus, as well as the authorities' constant obstruction of the Izmir H?P's (Platform for Rights and Freedom) actions for the disappeared. As of now, the following are taking part in the hunger strike: Kurtulus, TAYAD (association supporting prisoners and their families), Halkin G?nl?g?, EKSM (EKIN Culture and Art Centre) and H?P (Platform for Rights and Freedom) . In their protest statement they said amongst other things: "For 17 weeks we have been carrying out our actions against disappearances, and we have always been confronted by the police with obstructions and arrests. There have been 49 arrests and four detentions up to the present." H?P in Izmir has started a court action against the State Prosecutor's Office in Izmir. The organisations in the hunger strike add that "our protests also apply to the escalated attacks on the weekly newspaper Kurtulus." ISTANBUL: Another five persons were arrested at yesterday's Saturday Mothers' action in Galatasaray as a continuation of the violent attacks by the police which have been taking place in recent weeks. ANKARA: Yesterday on November 7, 1998, 200 people took part in the weekly action organised by IHD for the disappeared and the arrested. There were no arrests on this occasion. KOCAELI/Izmit: While a protest hunger strike was also begun in Kocaeli against the attacks on Kurtulus, the police attacked brutally. Twenty-four persons were arrested , two of them seriously injured. Nesrin Calgin, a representative of the newspaper Kurtulus in Kocaeli, and Sinan Sahin, a reader of the newspaper, suffered brain damage in the course of the police assault. They were immediately taken to hospital. BURSA: In the Bursa IHD building, a hunger strike was begun in relation to the attacks on Kurtulus. There the police carried out identity checks for a period of one and a half hours and confiscated back issues of the newspaper Kurtulus. Send your protest letter to: President S?leyman Demirel, Office of the President, Cumhur Baskanligi, 06100 Ankara. Fax : + 90 312 427 13 30 Prime Minister M. Yilmaz, office of the Prime Minister, Basbakanlik, 06573 Ankara, Turkey. Fax : + 90 312 417 04 76 Interior Minister, Kutlu Aktas: Fax: + 90 312 417 39 54 -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Nov 9 11:56:55 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 09 Nov 1998 11:56:55 Subject: Turkish rights activist barred from travelling abroad Message-ID: ANKARA, Nov 9 (AFP) - A court has banned Turkish human rights activist Akin Birdal from travelling abroad, his lawyer said here Monday. Birdal, chairman of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD), was stopped by airport authorities as he tried to board a plane for Norway on Monday, lawyer Yusuf Alatas said. "We learnt of this ban when Mr Birdal was prevented from travelling to Norway," Alatas said, adding that the ban was imposed on October 28. Turkey's Court of Appeal upheld a one-year prison sentence for Birdal on October 27. He was convicted of "incitement to religious hatred" last year for a speech made at a leftist party congress in 1996. He has the right to a four-month stay of sentence before going to jail. The 50-year-old campaigner is still recovering from injuries sustained when two would-be assassins entered his office in Ankara in May and fired 13 bullets at him. The attack came after Birdal was accused of being a sympathiser of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Birdal has already served a one-year jail term on charges of supporting the PKK, an accusation he denies. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 10 11:56:36 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 10 Nov 1998 11:56:36 Subject: Turkey: 100'ds arrested for looking "suspicious" Message-ID: ISTANBUL, Nov 10 (AFP) - Some 480 people have been arrested in security sweeps in Istanbul in connection with the 60th anniversary of the death of Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Anatolia news agency reported Tuesday. The sweeps late Monday came after last month's arrest of 23 Islamist militants who were allegedly planning suicide attacks on the anniversary, which was being commemorated nationwide on Tuesday. More than 380 people were taken into custody as suspicious-looking, Anatolia reported. Others were picked up because they were not carrying identification, were sought for crimes, or because their papers were not in order. Millions of Turks honored Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic, by observing a minute of silence at 9.05 a.m. (0705 GMT), the time of his death on November 10, 1938. Sirens wailed across the country as traffic came to a standstill and drivers got out of their cars to stand to attention. Flags flew at half-mast outside official buildings, and wreaths were laid at Ataturk monuments all over the country. President Suleyman Demirel and other high-ranking officials gathered for a commemorative ceremony at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, and a guard of honor was posted next to Ataturk's deathbed in the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul for the day. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 10 19:17:59 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 10 Nov 1998 19:17:59 Subject: [AFIB] Mumia News: Reports on Recent Mobilizations/Upcoming Actions Message-ID: Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 17:25:27 -0800 (PST) From: Tom Burghardt Message-Id: <199811110125.RAA01571 at igc6.igc.org> To: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Subject: [AFIB] Mumia News: Reports on Recent Mobilizations/Upcoming Actions ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||| ||| ||| A N T I F A ||| ||| ||| ||| I N F O - B U L L E T I N ||| ||| _____ ||| ||| ||| ||| * News * Analysis * Research * Action * ||| ||| ||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ***** ||/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\||/\|| || * -- SPECIAL -- * November 10, 1998 * -- EDITION -- * || ||\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/||\/|| * FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! * * FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS & PRISONERS OF WAR! * * SPECIAL EDITION * * * * _________________________________________________________________ MUMIA NEWS: REPORTS ON RECENT MOBILIZATIONS & UPCOMING ACTIONS _________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS ------ 1. (PANW) PAN-AFRICAN NEWS WIRE: Thousands Fill the Streets of Downtown Philly Demanding Mumia's Release 2. (AFA-S) ANTI-FASCIST ACTION - STOCKHOLM: `Stop the Execution of Mumia' - Demonstration in Oslo, Norway 3. (IG) INTERNATIONALIST GROUP: Brazil - Demonstration Demanding Freedom Now for Mumia Abu-Jamal in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro 4. (PANW) PAN-AFRICAN NEWS WIRE: Mumia's Case and the Plight of Political Prisoners/Prisoners of War 5. (R&R!) REFUSE & RESIST!: Upcoming Actions and Meetings to Free Mumia * * * * PAN-AFRICAN NEWS WIRE * E-mail: ac6123 at wayne.edu Weekly Dispatch I - Sunday, 8 November 1998 - ----- _________________________________________________________________ THOUSANDS FILL STREETS OF DOWNTOWN PHILLY DEMANDING MUMIA'S RELEASE _________________________________________________________________ By Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang, PANW Correspondent * * * PHILADELPHIA, PA, 8 November (PANW) - In response to the denial of the appeal of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, 5,000 people took to the streets of Philadelphia on Saturday in opposition to the continuing incarceration and persecution of the award-winning journalist and former official of the Black Panther Party. Many of the participants in the demonstration had traveled to Philadelphia from as far away as New York City, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Detroit and Paris. The majority of the crowd were young people who have played an instrumental role in publicizing the plight of Jamal, who was arrested, charged and convicted of killing a white police officer in 1981. Since the signing of a death warrant by Republican Governor Tom Ridge in 1995, Jamal has become an international symbol of the continuing legacy of political repression in the United States. Saturday's demonstration began with a rally at the State Office Building on Broad street, where organizers set-up a public address system on a flat-bed Ryder truck. A host of speakers discussed the present plight of Jamal, who faces the possibility of another death warrant being signed for his execution by the Governor of Pennsylvania. Speakers included Pam Africa of MOVE and the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Weinglass, lead defense attorney for the former Black Panther, Safiya Bukhari of the Jericho '98 National Steering Committee, Julia Wright of France, who is a journalist and the daughther of the legendary African-American novelist and essayist Richard Wright, New York Poet Michael Price, C. Clark Kissinger of Refuse and Resist, as well as many others. After over two hours of speeches at the State Office Building, the crowd lined up behind a van and then moved into the streets marching down Broad Street to the offices of the local newspapers, the Inquirer and the Daily News. The Ryder truck remained poised in the middle of the crowd as its public address system continously projected the voices of organizers who expressed outrage at the decisions of the local and state courts in Pennsylvania in the case of Jamal. At the offices of the Inquirer and the Daily News, the speakers denounced what it claimed to be the racist and biased coverage of the legal issues involving the Mumia Abu-Jamal case. Marchers then moved on to the offices of Philadelphia District Attorney Lyn Abrahms, who was accused of perpetuating the continued incarceration of Jamal in addition to being severely criticized by a host of speakers for her failure to prosecute police officers who have committed crimes, including murder against people in the city of Philadelphia. "The police are responsible for the murder of two of my children and the deaths of 11 members of my family", said Consuella Africa of the MOVE organization in front of the District Attorney's Office. IMPACT OF DEMONSTRATION The crowd of demonstrators blocked the streets of central Philadelphia for four hours. Traffic was re-routed by the scores of police officers who remained near the protestors throughout the course of the day. At City Hall, another rally was held, where statements were read from local and national activists, who expressed their support for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Continuing their protest, the crowd then moved to other areas of downtown, where they marched through the streets blocking traffic and chanting slogans such as , "brick by brick, wall by wall, free Mumia Abu-Jamal". Onlookers, which consisted of many tourists visiting the entertainment district in downtown, looked on with astonishment as the public address system connected to the flat-bed truck, blasted pro-Mumia slogans and speeches which were applauded by the large crowd of marchers. Speakers at Saturday rally, called for continued vigilance in the campaign to win the exoneration of Jamal. Speakers also included Mumia's daughter, sister and long-time personal friends and colleagues. Pan-African News Wire articles may be freely distributed for non-profit educational and research purposes. We request that the original source be cited when the dispatches are circulated. Distribution for profit is strictly prohibited without the expressed consent of the Pan-African News Wire. Distributed By: THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION CENTER 211 SCB BOX 47, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY DETROIT, MI 48202 E-MAIL: ac6123 at wayne.edu ***** * ANTI-FASCIST ACTION - STOCKHOLM * Anti-Fascistisk Aktion-Stockholm Box 38196 * 100 64 Stockholm * Sweden Tel: +46-([0]70)-566 5135 E-mail: afastockholm at hotmail.com Web: http://hem2.passagen.se/afa/ http://www.motkraft.net/afa - Mot Sexism, Rasism, Kapitalism och Homofobi - - Sunday, 8 November 1998 - ----- _________________________________________________________________ `STOP THE EXECUTION OF MUMIA' - DEMONSTRATION IN OSLO, NORWAY _________________________________________________________________ Source: ralf at anarch.free.de * * * Paintbombs and firecrackers were thrown at the US Embassy during a demonstration in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal in Oslo, Norway on Saturday the 7th of November. About 100 people participated on very short notice, and promised to work harder by mobilizing more activities within the next weeks in order to stop the execution of Mumia. The manifestation was arranged by the supportcommitete for Mumia from the autonomous youth house Blitz in Oslo. ***** * INTERNATIONALIST GROUP * E-mail: internationalistgroup at email.msn.com - Friday, 6 November 1998 - ----- _________________________________________________________________ BRAZIL: DEMONSTRATION DEMANDING FREEDOM NOW FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 IN VOLTA REDONDA, RIO DE JANEIRO _________________________________________________________________ Militant workers in the city of Volta Redonda, Brazil, site of the largest steel plant in Latin America, are organizing a demonstration this Saturday, November 7, protesting the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's denial of the appeal by Mumia Abu-Jamal for a new trial. Their leaflet calls to "join in the protest to stop U.S. imperialism from murdering this courageous fighter against injustice." The protest is being held at 11 a.m. in the Juarez Antunes Plaza near the main entrance to the steel mill. Support has already been pledged by a number of area unions. The demonstration was initiated by the Liga Quarta-Internacionalista do Brasil (LQB), section of the League for the Fourth International. The following is translated from the special supplement to Vanguarda Operia, (5 November 1998), newspaper of the LQB. * * * MOBILIZE THE POWER OF THE WORKING CLASS TO FREE MUMIA ABU- JAMAL NOW! A demonstration will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, in Volta Redonda's Juarez Antunes Plaza to demand: Freedom Now for Mumia Abu-Jamal! Down with the Racist Death Penalty! Participate and join in the protest to stop U.S. imperialism from murdering this courageous fighter against injustice! Today, this struggle is more urgent than ever. Mumia Abu-Jamal, former Black Panther and renowned black journalist, has spent 16 years on death row in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. His case has become the focus of the fight against the racist death penalty in the United States and internationally. Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected Mumia's appeal for a new trial. Now, the governor may sign a death warrant at any moment. The courts and police want to silence forever this eloquent spokesman for the oppressed, known as the "voice of the voiceless." The racist ruling class says that Mumia Abu-Jamal must die. We say that Mumia must live! In 1981 Mumia Abu-Jamal was found near death after being shot by the police. His "crime" was that he survived and continued to speak the truth. So he was framed up on the charge of killing a police officer, and a right-wing judge sentenced Mumia to death as part of the system of "legal" lynching and police terror against oppressed minorities. Today, it is the exploited and oppressed who must stop the oppressors who want to murder Mumia. The last time a death warrant was signed against him, in 1995, a wave of protests around the world stayed the hand of the racist bourgeoisie. Unions representing millions of workers have spoken out for Mumia, including many from South Africa, dockers in the U.S., journalists in Brazil and else where. In Volta Redonda, more than 200 people participated in the proletarian protest at the Monument to Zumbi [leader of Brazil's most famous slave revolt], which was called by Luta Metalurgica, predecessor of the LQB, together with the municipal workers and other groups and sectors. The fight for Mumia's life and freedom is a crucial part of the world-wide fight against racism and capitalist repression. In Brazil it is part of the fight against the racist extermination of street children, forced sterilization of black women, the murder of homosexuals, massacres of landless peasants and daily repression by racist capitalism's armed fist: the police. Writing about the struggle against slavery in Brazil, Mumia declared: "Zumbi is one of my heroes." In the U.S. the racist death penalty is a legacy of slavery, and the international fight for its abolition has as its focus the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. Today, it has been shown once again that there is no justice in the capitalist courts, nor can there be, for fighters for black liberation. In this crucial hour, we must mobilize the power of the organized working class, of all the victims of the system of racist injustice, to demand immediate and unconditional freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Participate and bring your friends, neighbors, fellow workers and classmates: Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. in the Juarez Antunes Plaza. Down with legal lynching! Abolish the racist death penalty! Freedom NOW for Mumia Abu-Jamal! Volta Redonda, 5 November 1998 Liga Quarta-Internacionalista do Brasil section of the League for the Fourth International ***** * PAN-AFRICAN NEWS WIRE * E-mail: ac6123 at wayne.edu Weekly Dispatch II - Monday, 9 November 1998 - ----- _________________________________________________________________ MUMIA'S CASE AND THE PLIGHT OF POLITICAL PRISONERS/PRISONERS OF WAR _________________________________________________________________ By Abayomi Azikiwe Thabang, PANW * * * Editorial Review, 9 November (PANW) -- Since the denial of the Post-Conviction Relief Appeal (PCRA) of Mumia Abu-Jamal on October 29, there has been an upsurge in protests decrying the blatantly unjust and prejudice character of the Pennsylvania State Court system. Despite the overwhelming evidence that would exonerate Jamal and consequently bring about his release from both death row and maximum security prison in Pennsylvania, this talented and committed activist and scholar remains under a real threat of execution by the state. This last past weekend, thousands of people gathered in Philadelphia, San Francisco and other cities to denounce the actions of the state courts and to plan new strategies for the next phase of the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. Last week's demonstrations in Philadelphia and other cities represented a continuing series of manifestations calling for the freedom and general amnesty for political prisoners in the United States. Earlier this year, activists worked to build the Jericho '98 March and rally on the White House that took place on March 27 in Washington, D.C. Later on during September the supporters of political prisoners and prisoners of war were outraged by the supposed "non-binding" resolution passed by the US Congress calling for the extradition of Black Panther Party/Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur. Therefore, when the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision was handed down last week, it was not unusual for people to respond with righteous indignation and political action. Jamal supporters have pledged to continue their efforts to build even a broader base among the people of the US and the world. Safiya Bukhari of the Jericho '98 National Steering Committee, called for activists in the campaign to free Mumia and other political prisoners to expand their efforts by reaching people who still may not be aware of the methods that could be used to reverse the plight of these freedom fighters that are languishing in the dungeons of America. "We must even reach out to those people who are no longer active in the struggle and demand that they become involved in the campaign to free Mumia", Bukhari said at the rally held at the Pennsylvania State Office Building in downtown Philadelphia. Julia Wright of France stated that people can contribute to the struggle to free Mumia on many different levels. She stated that Emory Douglas, the former Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party, had created a revolutionary artistic poster calling for the freedom of Mumia. CRITICAL STAGE OF THE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL CASE Attorney Leonard Weinglass stated during his speech in Philadelphia at the State Office Building, that although the Governor's office had indicated to the defense team over the last several days that they were not in a rush to sign another death warrant against Mumia, people should keep in mind the developments of 1995, when after the filing of the PCRA, the same forces made similair gestures. However, Weinglass pointed out that as soon as the appeal was filed in 1995, the Governor's office proceeded rather quickly to sign a death warrant against Mumia. THE NEED FOR AMNESTY At this stage the struggle for the release of all political prisoners in the United States has moved to a new level where activists in the revolutionary and progressive movements are calling for a general amnesty for those people who have been incarcerated or exiled because of political activities and beliefs. This effort takes on an added significance since the attacks against individual prisoners and exiles have intensified over the last several months. Herman Fergusan of Jericho '98 sees these actions taken by the US Government against select political prisoners and exiles as being a part of a larger pattern of political repression reflective of the present atmosphere of fascism in the country. Consequently, the challenge laid down by the speakers and organizers of the demonstrations in Philadelphia and other cities to broaden the base of support for Mumia and other PP/POWs, has become a question of whether or not the progressive forces will be able to meet the new wave of repressive court rulings and legislation that is designed to cripple and demoralize the struggle, with an effective response that will not only gain results for the freedom of political prisoners but also build a movement to fundamentally transform the racist and exploitative system that is currently in place? Pan-African News Wire articles may be freely distributed for non-profit educational and research purposes. We request that the original source be cited when the dispatches are circulated. Distribution for profit is strictly prohibited without the expressed consent of the Pan-African News Wire. Distributed By: THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION CENTER 211 SCB BOX 47, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY DETROIT, MI 48202 ***** * REFUSE & RESIST! * 305 Madison Ave. Suite 1166 New York, NY 10165 Tel: 212-713-5657 Fax: 212-822-8535 E-mail: refuse at calyx.com Web: http://www.calyx.net/~refuse/ - Monday, 9 November 1998 - ----- _________________________________________________________________ UPCOMING ACTIONS & MEETINGS TO FREE MUMIA _________________________________________________________________ AFIB EDITOR'S NOTE: Refuse & Resist! has been on the frontlines in the fight to Free Mumia! R&R! maintains an excellent web resource with much info. The notices below are from the "Demonstrations" page on the R&R! web server; it is updated frequently so check back often: http://mojo.calyx.net/~refuse/mumia/demos.html * * * Cleveland, OH SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1:00 PM MARCH & RALLY FOR MUMIA! Public Square, downtown Cleveland. Gather at NW Quadrant, Ontario & Superior. If you live in the surrounding suburbs, on a college campus in NE Ohio, in small towns and rural areas, come join us! Bring your friends, banners, etc. WE CAN'T LET THEM KILL MUMIA! info: 216-556-3512 Minneapolis, MN SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1:00 P.M. INDOOR RALLY FOLLOWED BY MARCH Cedar-Riverside People's Center 20th Ave. & Riverside Ave., West Bank info: Twin Cities Coalition to Defend Mumia Abu-Jamal hotline: 612-649-4579 Website: http://www1.minn.net/~meis Twin Cities Coalition to Defend Mumia Abu-Jamal meets every Wednesday at 7:00 PM at Arise! bookstore, 2441 Lyndale Ave. S. New York, NY WEDNESDAYS The Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition, PO Box 650, New York, NY 10009, meets on the first and third Wednesday of every month, 7-9 P.M. at International Action Center, 39 West 14th Street, RM 206, (between 5th and 6th avenues). Pittsburgh, PA Information about meetings and protests can be found by calling the Western PA Committee to Free Mumia Abu Jamal hotline at 412-734-8315 Rochester, NY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 5:00 PM DEMONSTRATION AT THE LIBERTY POLE DOWNTOWN org. by Rochester (NY) Mumia Defense Committee THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 7:00 PM INFORMATIONAL MEETING New Bethel Church, Rochester, org. by Rochester (NY) Mumia Defense Committee Santa Cruz, CA MONDAYS The Santa Cruz Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal meets every Monday evening at 7:30pm at the Walk-in Center 314 Front St. near Laurel St. the mailing address is: PO Box 263, Brookdale, Calif. 95007, 408-426-3596 Seattle, WA TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 8:00 PM Seattle Mumia Defense Committee strategy meeting, 2222 2nd Ave (2nd floor) in Belltown (between Blanchard and Bell). SMDC is setting up an info line at 728-9781. Washington, DC A demonstration will be held in front of the Supreme Court at 5:00 PM if the death warrant is signed on the day after it is signed. Meetings of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal are held every Tuesday at 6:00 at 404 H St., NE. Toronto, Canada SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1:00 PM DEMONSTRATE @ US CONSULATE (University avenue north of Queen St) with the following demands: FREE MUMIA NOW! NO TO THE RACIST DEATH PENALTY! Dublin, Ireland SATURDAY, November 14, 1:00 PM There are stalls every Saturday at 1:00 in the city centre. * * * JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL! Funds are urgently needed for legal defense! Make a contribution to the Bill of Rights Foundation (earmarked "Mumia Abu-Jamal Legal Defense") and mail it to: Committee to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal 163 Amsterdam Avenue No. 115 New York, NY 10023-5001 For more information on how you can become involved in the struggle to Free Mumia!, check out the following groups and get involved! International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal P.O. Box 19709 Philadelphia, PA 19143 Tel: (215) 476-8812 or (215) 476-9405 Fax: (215) 476-7551 E-mail: mumia at aol.com Web: http://www.mumia.org The Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal 3425 Ceasar Chavez San Francisco, CA 94110 Tel: (415) 821-0459 Fax: (415) 821-0166 Partisan Defense Committee P.O. Box 99, Canal Street Station New York, NY 10013-0099 Tel: 212-406-4252 E-mail: 75057.3201 at compuserve.com Refuse & Resist! 305 Madison Ave. Suite 1166 New York, NY 10165 Tel: 212-713-5657 Fax: 212-822-8535 E-mail: refuse at calyx.com Web: http://www.calyx.net/~refuse * * * ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB) 750 La Playa # 730 San Francisco, California 94121 E-Mail: tburghardt at igc.org * On PeaceNet visit ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN on pol.right.antifa Via the Web --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib.html Archive --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib-bulletins.html * ANTI-FASCIST FORUM (AFF) Antifa Info-Bulletin is a member of the Anti-Fascist Forum network. AFF is an info-group which collects and disseminates information, research and analysis on fascist activity and anti-fascist resistance. More info: E-mail: aff at burn.ucsd.edu Web: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+ +: A N T I F A I N F O - B U L L E T I N +: :+ :+ +: NEWS * ANALYSIS * RESEARCH * ACTION +: :+ :+ +: RESISTING FASCISM * BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY! +: +:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+ ++++ stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal ++++ ++++ if you agree copy these 3 sentences in your own sig ++++ ++++ see: http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/spg-l/sigaction.htm ++++ List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Nov 12 09:34:09 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 12 Nov 1998 09:34:09 Subject: Interview with DHKP-C prisoners (Turkey) Message-ID: note 'oe'=ouml 'ue'=uuml Taken From the "Rote Hilfe" (Red Aid) INTERVIEW WITH DHKP-C PRISONERS "The hungerstrike till death from 1996 has, because of its results, achieved the character of a political victory..." Two years ago, a hungerstrike by political prisoners in Turkey kept the whole country in its grip for months, determining the political agenda. Prisoners from ten revolutionary organisations participated in the hungerstrike till death, which lasted for 69 days, and 12 prisoners died: Aygun Ugur(TKP(ML)), Altan Berdan Kerimgiller (DHKP-C), Ilginc Ozkeskin (DHKP-C), Huseyin Demircioglu (MLKP), Ali Ayata (TKP(ML)), Mujdat Yanat (DHKP-C), Tahsin Yilmaz (TIKB), Ayse Idil Erkmen (DHKP-C), Hicabi Kucuk (TIKB), Yemliha Kaya (DHKP-C), Osman Akgun (TIKB) en Hayati Can (TKP(ML)). Last summer, co-workers from the "Rote Hilfe" (Red Aid) from Kiel (Germany) had an interview with DHKP-C prisoners in Turkey. Two years after the hungerstrike till death, we want to hear from them about the present situation and how the their struggle is going now. How has the prison situation been since 1996? Before answering this question, maybe we should explain what was the goal of the hungerstrike of 1996 and what a victory this action was. Then the answer to your question is easier to understand. The hungerstrike till death of 1996 was not held for the recognition of limited rights in prison. Because of its results, the hungerstrike also has the character of a political victory, looking at the future of the revolutionary struggle, where the heart of the struggle is formed by the existential struggle of the revolutionaries against fascism. In those days, fascism did everything to carry out its plan of beating back the revolutionary struggle and repressing the demands of the people for rights and justice. Their plan was directed against all segments of society. As their first level of attack, they chose the prisons and the revolutionary prisoners. It has been important to beat back fascism at its first step when it increased its attacks in prison in a deadly way. The hungerstrike till death then transformed into an existential struggle, destroying the core of the fascist plan, silencing the people and the revolution. In short, we can say our action cannot be reduced to the demand of closing the isolation prison in Eskesehir and giving back the rights for defence and medical treatment. The action, besides pushing through the demands (albeit at the cost of 12 deaths), also brought a political victory which in a very short time revealed the true face of fascism in Turkey to all the people in the world. Furthermore, the attempt to take the revolutionary struggle hostage was stopped and beaten back. The action found a lot of resonance, it developed new values and new possibilities for the revolutionary struggle and thus it reached its goal. Turkey is a country which is ruled by fascism. Under the conditions of fascism, the existential struggle between fascism and the revolution continues, even though the intensity of the struggle might differ from time to time. The prisons also constitute one of the many places where the struggle is waged. From this view, the revolutionary prisoners thus are a favourite target of fascism. The prisoners try to gain their rights through several actions, fascism tries to curtail these rights and then the prisoners resist this and struggle again. Fascism takes a step back and prepares for new attacks. This law is in existence since the beginning of the revolutionary struggle and it will remain in existence for as long as fascism exists. So it's no mistake to keep this aspect in mind in evaluating the phase after the hungerstrike till death of 1996. As first demand of our action, the isolation prison in Eskesehir was closed. The denial of our right of defence and medical treatment, the attacks against our families, arresting them, it all clearly decreased. However, after this period the attacks took another form and they occurred on several levels. For instance, they no longer talked about a central isolation prison as in Eskesehir, now isolation cells were built in the individual prisons in stead. They also denied us the right of medical treatment. Because of that, we have had more deaths recently as a result of lacking medical care. We call this silent annihilation afterwards. The relatives and family members of the prisoners are being arrested again, their visits are being prevented by all kinds of pestering and nagging. And then there are always the provocations, or something is thought of the create provocations. Severe attacks occur again and again. On March 30, 1998, for instance. In Buca Ten DHKP-C prisoners were kidnapped from prison. But this attack as well was beaten back because of the determined resistance of the prisoners. Even though circumstances might differ in the individual prisons from time to time, most important is our determined resistance against the attacks and assaults of fascism, to beat back the attacks, making every sacrifice necessary. Because this will be a factor which will make fascism retreat permanently, creating a basis at the same time for a fertile ground for our achieved successes. How do you organize your activities and your life? The reason why fascism chooses prison as a permanent target for their attacks is at the one hand the fact that we have transformed it into a place of the revolution, into schools of our party, that we don't give up our struggle in jail, that we do not loose our faith in the revolution, and that we succeeded in becoming a moral institution in the eyes of the people. Our lives and our activities must be seen and judged in that context. The question is who poses the question of power in prison, the revolutionaries or fascism. However circumstances in prison might be, we determine reality and the issue of power in the prisons. What we do and how we live is determined by is alone. We do not allow fascism to enter here. We see our line of life as a part, as an ideological, political and practical support for the revolutionary struggle. In that sense we also have a written statute which determines our communal life, our political education, our relations with our relatives, our principles and rules in all details. This statute was discussed and approved by all members of the DHKP-C, it's valid for all imprisoned members of the DHKP-C. In all prisons, these common principles form the basis for our lives and our activities, naturally considering local circumstances. The common frame of mind develops in real life the collectivity on the basis of revolutionary principles. On the other hand, the collectivity strengthens our mental and moral unity in real life. It's fundamental in our life to permanently practice revolutionary discipline, collectivism, political education, productivity and an attitude which prevents the dissolvment of the revolutionary struggle. On that basis, we are living in a community, we participate in joint political education, and we also are active culturally and in sports. Besides that there are of course the individual activities which support the struggle in a positive way. For us, such a life constitutes a shield which protects us against the attempts of fascism to destroy us, to break our consciousness. Our socialist conviction, our love for our people and our country, our responsibility for all our peoples, is reflected in our entire life and it strengthens our consciousness. That's why fascism tries to isolate us, and if that doesn't succeed, sabotage our lives. It's not important whether we are with 300 people or alone, our lives and our activities stem from this consciousness. It cannot be ignored that the people are organizing on all levels. Students, workers, civil servants, the people's councils for instance. How do you see your place in that? The struggle inside the prisons signified important phases of the revolutionary struggle in our country. We might even say that one of the special characteristics of the revolutionary struggle in our country is the role of the revolutionary struggle in the prisons. The practice of the revolutionaries in the prisons has time and again played a determining role, on the one hand for the future of the revolutionary struggle, but on the other for the future of the individual political prisoner as well. In our country, the revolutionary prisoners are influenced by the struggle of the people, and vice versa their struggle influences the people. Our struggle inside the prisons has become stronger and broader, not for realizing more agreeable conditions of life, but rather on the basis of the revolutionary struggle and the problems connected with that. In their 30 year history, the DHKP-C prisoners have always interpreted imprisonment from these aspects. It's important that imprisonment, keeping the body within four walls, does not jail the mind. Under those circumstances, prisoners with a free mind can overcome imprisonment and its consequences and they can become part of the struggle of the people. Then they are able to fulfil their given tasks in the struggle with success. In our country, there were times when the struggle inside the prisons was decisive for the struggle outside. For example during the period of the coup. The junta had tortured hundreds of thousands of people outside, thousands were arrested. All, revolutionaries, democrats and intellectuals were driven together in prison and under those circumstances, every fight for rights, every struggle for freedoms, transformed into resistance against the terror of the junta against the people. A struggle which served as a barricade against all the repression and aggression could only develop inside the prisons. After the junta had silenced the unions, associations, even the bourgeois opposition, with repression and bans, it turned against the prisoners. If the revolutionaries and their consciousness could be broken inside the prison, the road would be paved for their system of exploitation. Therefore they started with forcing the prisoners to wear prison clothing to destroy their individuality and dignity, but the prisoners did not allow that. In January 1984, three of our comrades and a comrade from the TIKB lost their lives during a 75 day long hungerstrike, but the junta's plan was stopped. The political victory of 1984 has, besides gaining existential basic rights, made an impression upon the people and it became a propelling force in the struggle against fascism. As our example shows, prisons and revolutionary prisoners can become of strategic importance at certain times. In that sense it constitutes an important part of the struggle in our country. The level of importance can vary, increase or decrease, from time to time, but it is never without importance. That means that the prisoners have to resists under all circumstances, they must never surrender to fascism, they must be part of the struggle. As we have said after your first question, the prisons were attacked at a moment when hundreds of thousands of people on the outside took to the streets: the politicizing of the people, the increasing level of organizing and the political struggle as a whole had to be stopped. The barricade struggle in 1995 when three of our comrades fell in Buca, or January 4 when four comrades were murdered during an operation of the security troops and when we counteracted these attacks with barricades and taking security officers as prisoners, must be seen in that context. Looking at the present situation, the role of the revolutionary prisoners and the prisons in the struggle hasn't changed in itself. The prisoners are an active and inseparable part in the struggle and the organizing of the people. This role can come to the foreground from time to time, depending on the attacks by fascism. But just as the students, the workers and the civil servants, they are organized and function as a part of the people's struggle. The only difference is that the prisoners are confined within four walls. Nothing changed in their responsibility towards the people and the country in the struggle against fascism. That is to say that they are a part in the struggle for power. The state tries to lock up the prisoners in isolation cells. What will be the reaction of the prisoners in such a situation? Maybe we should start with clarifying why the state wants to implement such a policy. To begin with, it has to be clear that what the state wants to force upon the prisoners, whatever they call it, whatever the form, indifferent when, is to take them hostage. Taking them hostage means to separate them from their conviction, from their ideology they have fought for till now, where they have been tortured for, locked up in prison for years, lost their comrades... in short they are supposed to betray themselves and their people. This taking hostage is not something physical, and it's not the giving up of the revolutionary struggle by an individual or by one hundred prisoners, it's rather the effect of such a process, that is to say the effect of the persons, driven to betrayal, not wanting to know anymore of their ideology and conviction, this effect upon the people and upon their comrades. When you think about that it is perfectly clear that such an effect influences the struggle negatively and that these people are being misused to destroy the self-confidence of the people. For the state, the most important goals in this are to spread mistrust, the giving up of the conviction and the goal, the breaking of the own identity. Revolutionaries have become moral standards who, whatever the form of torture and repression, will not break their word to the people, who will not hesitate to die for their conviction, thus giving the people conviction and determination as well. This constitutes a danger to fascism, therefore one attack follows the other. The demand for building isolation cells, since 1977 time and again on the agenda, constitutes the continuation of these attacks. As you know, an isolation prison was opened in Eskesehir in 1996. Present policy is to build isolation cells in all prisons so that they all become "Eskesehirs". Spreading the attacks aims at splitting up a given resistance because simultaneous resistance in several prisons gives a stronger position of negotiation towards the state. With the decentralization of its isolation policy, that is to say with introducing isolation cells in all the local prisons, the state aims at breaking a centrally organized resistance, at the other hand they also want to win the public opinion for this policy by putting non-political prisoners in the isolation blocks as well. But the reality of fascism and the fascist policies are manifest. That's the state's calculation. The policy of introducing isolation blocks, constantly reappearing, aims at separating the political prisoners, at weakening the resistance and, in course of time, making the political prisoners into collaborators. But introducing the separate isolation cells in the prison at different times will not change anything about our central co-ordination, that is to say the simultaneous co-ordinated resistance in all the prisons. Even when only one of our comrades is put into isolation, hundreds of prisoners will rise up in all the prisons. That was shown on March 30, in Buca. Our comrades were kidnapped gangster style so there whereabouts would be unknown but all the DHKP-C prisoners reacted with actions like taking the guards hostage, building barricades or refusing to be counted. The state tried to test the reactions inside the prisons but when it became obvious they couldn't act like they pleased, the state withdrew. As mentioned before, such a retreat is only temporary, of course, and when the preparations are finished, or when a suitable situation occurs, attacks will be launched again. But our reaction will be swift. None of us will disappear into a isolation cell. We will resist, if need be we'll die. We will break down these cells with our hands and teeth. All the DHKP-C prisoners are that determined. Given such a situation, the full attention of the country will be on the prisons, the resistance of the revolutionaries, again. There are several forms of repression in Turkey. Which is the most problematic? Of course there are different forms of repression in our country. It's not always possible, or even necessary, to differentiate according to their importance because they are all based on the same, fascism. Fascism is expressed in all its cruelty in our country. Exploitation and barbarism rule on all levels. This state is a contra-guerrilla state which wages a war against the people, using the methods of the contra-guerrilla. Oppression, tyranny, exploitation, disappearances and murders, the cruelties against the Kurdish people, the burning down of villages, forced deportations, torture, fascist terror attacks, et cetera. We could list a dozen other forms of repression, from mass lay offs to provocations at demonstrations. To see the fascist tactics on all the levels of life isn't difficult at all. The cruelties which occurred in the gas chambers of Hitler are reflected in our country in the collections of the cut off ears of the revolutionaries. Is it possible to make a difference between Hitler-fascism and fascism in our country, at least in the way it is applied to individuals, when we look at the way our comrades are massacred? This is the naked truth we have to face. Turkey is ruled by fascism. Fascism is a way of government which is based on repression and that influences all the practices and policies which are applied. When we speak about the different forms of repression in Turkey, we speak about fascism in Turkey, nothing else. When we apply your question to the prisons in particular, we can see many parallels. What is implemented now is a fascist policy we call "silent destruction". How is this done? Let us give a concrete answer. As you know, the survivors of the hungerstrike till death of 1996 suffered serious physical and psychological damage. Already during the first phase, the justice department refused medical treatment in the Bayrampasa prison. The doctors were refused entrance in the other prisons as well. Even the treatment in hospital of the prisoners which were near death, shortly after the hungerstrike till death was ended, was hindered. Although even official forensic-medical institutions regarded the continued imprisonment of severely handicapped prisoners as irresponsible, they are still incarcerated. Prisoners who are unable to move without help, who cannot carry out their daily activities, were given medical statements which said: there are no objections to continue imprisonment. This not only applies to the participants of the hungerstrike till death, it applies to all prisoners. As a consequence of this policy of annihilation, several prisoners have died lately like Umit Dogan (...) in the prison of Aydin, Kalender Kayapinar in Canakkale, Yunus Yaman in Ankara, Kazim Tunc in Nevsehir and Polat Iyit in Sagmalcilar. Another dimension of this practice is that medical treatment of prisoners, for as far as they are brought to external hospitals, is prevented by soldiers on the spot. It even goes as far that prisoners how should be medically treated are being beaten and tortured. In short, this policy of silent destruction can be regarded as another form of the policy of hostage taking. Thus fascism states "when I cannot kill with bombs and bullets, I'll do it by means of illnesses". Prison conditions create the physical causes for diseases, epidemics, completing this policy. That fascism breaks its own laws is in its nature, but this policy creates conditions which makes all shiver. How can the struggle of the political prisoners be supported by institutions in Europe? What can we do? To begin with, we want to emphasize that all have to make the anti-fascist struggle their own, apart from the fact that this is of course the task of the people which are governed by fascism. More than ever, it's important that internationalist consciousness and internationalism are kept alive. On the one hand, this will give us the opportunity to keep alive our mutual relations, on the other hand we can make concrete our responsibility towards the other peoples of the world. We as DHKP-C are and always were an internationalist movement and dozens of actions and activities resulted from that. Comrades fell during these actions. As prisoners as well, we have kept internationalism alive inside the prisons. We have realised resistance and action on an internationalist level. In the future as well, we keep high this consciousness which gives us strength and pride. Therefore every form of support from people in other countries, from revolutionaries, democratic groups or individuals, is important to us and really valuable. It's clear that the more we are. the sooner we'll achieve freedom, the sooner we'll achieve a world in which we can lead a dignified life. There are concrete ways in which institutions in Western Europe can support our struggle. We have always considered this kind of international actions of great value. At this moment there are comrades, also from other revolutionary organisations, who have survived the hungerstrike till death but who can no longer survive under prison conditions. So there could be actions to demand the release of these prisoners. Besides that, material support is needed for the treatment of our comrades. There are so many comrades who cannot be operated because the state will not cover the costs. The people in Europe could also unmask fascism in Turkey. Finally we want to emphasize again that we were very glad with your compassion and solidarity. It's of the greatest importance that you support our struggle, that you have chosen the side of the peoples in Turkey. We thank you and wish you good luck with your work. Attached is a list of DHKP-C prisoners who urgently need medical help, most of them as a consequence of the hungerstrike till death. All their illnesses are backed by reports of recognized hospitals. The illnesses vary from leukaemia, hepatitis b, tuberculosis, chronic lung illnesses, paralysis to neurological illnesses. Most of them can no longer carry out the most elementary needs without help. There are illnesses like the Wernike-Korsakov syndrome as a consequence of the hungerstrike till death. Bayrampasa Prison (Istanbul): Ali Yalcin. Hungerstrike till death (HS). Wernike Korsakov Mehmet Yaman. HS. General weakness, hypersensitive for light and sounds, hearing loss, equilibrium disorder, problems with sight. Mustafa Goek. HS. Wernike-Korsakov. Mehmet Goevel. HS. General weakness, equilibrium disorder, dizziness, problems with sight. Sengi Mert. Chronic bronchitis. No reply to his request for treatment. Einali Sarielmas. Severe bronchitis. Oktay Karatas. Deaf at both ears since the attack on the UEmraniye prison in 1995. Not treated because of lacking money. Yazgi Goender. TB Gamze Mimaroglu. TB Seyjan Dogun. Hepatitis B Gencali Karabulut. Hepatitis B Ali Simsek. Hepatitis B Cengiz Bayir. Epilepsy. At present two attacks weekly. Bursa Prison: Ibrahim Dogan. HS. Memory loss. Wernike-Korsakov. Bartin Prison: Abdulaziz Nakci. HS. Cannot remember important events of the past and present, equilibrium disorder, hypersensitive for sound. Selmani OEzcan. HS. Equilibrium disorder, speech disorder, tremors. Cankiri Prison: Serdar Gelir. HS. Memory loss, general weakness, motion disorders. Maximum Security Prison of Ankara: Zeynap Goengfuermez. HS. Memory loss, equilibrium disorder. Aydin/Buca Prison: Ali Teke. HS. Can no longer function independently. Bernar Satar. HS. Not capable of carrying out activities of everyday life. Tamer Cadirci. HS. Leukaemia, prison authorities prevent treatment. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Nov 13 08:29:06 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 13 Nov 1998 08:29:06 Subject: Turkey demands extradition of Kurd Message-ID: ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Turkey has demanded that Italy extradite Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan following his arrest in Rome. Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told a hastily arranged news conference: ``The most important thing is that the murderer who had been responsible for the killing of 30,000 people for the last 14 years be stopped. This is the biggest blow on the (Kurdistan Workers Party) PKK.'' Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed separatist PKK, has been sought for years by Turkey. A dropout from Ankara University, Ocalan, 49, lived for at least 10 years in Syria, after fleeing Turkey. Turkish and Italian officials said Ocalan was arrested Thursday night at the Rome airport where he arrived by a Russian plane, carrying a fake Turkish passport. Ocalan had fled to Russia from Syria last month following pressure from Turkey threatening to use military force if Damascus did not stop giving shelter PKK rebels. The Italian officials arrested Ocalan at the Leonardo da Vinci airport and then took him to a military hospital after he complained of heart problems. The PKK has been fighting a guerrilla war since 1984 in the mainly Kurdish southeastern areas of Turkey. Ocalan was on Interpol's red list of most wanted terrorist. ``We do not expect any problems with Italy over Ocalan's extradition to Turkey,'' Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin told reporters. As the news of Ocalan's arrest was heard in Ankara, a number of foreign ambassadors -- including from the United States, Russian and Italy -- visited the Foreign Ministry. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Nov 13 11:43:30 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 13 Nov 1998 11:43:30 Subject: Ocalan requests political asylum in Italy: Med-TV Message-ID: ANKARA, Nov 13 (AFP) - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has applied for political asylum in Italy following his arrest there, the pro-Kurdish satellite TV channel Med-TV reported Friday, citing the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "I have come to Rome with the knowledge of the Italian government," Ocalan said in a written statement in Turkish read out on the air. "The necessary steps are being taken, so that I, with my political identity, may remain in this country," the statement continued. But it was not clear yet whether his request would be granted, Ocalan added. "It is too early to say whether this process will be sucessful or not," his statement said. Med-TV announced that Ocalan had accepted an invitation to speak on the air with Med-TV by telephone later on Friday. Italian authorities earlier said Ocalan was under arrest in Rome. The PKK leader was detained on arrival at Rome airport late Thursday, according to Turkey's security chief Necati Bilican. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Fri Nov 13 19:54:24 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 13 Nov 1998 19:54:24 Subject: ERNK Press Release on Ocalan's Status in Rome, Italy Message-ID: Message-ID: <199811140337.WAA19374 at repulse> Subject: ERNK Press Release on Ocalan's Status in Rome, Italy Date: Fri, 13 Nov 98 22:40:56 -0400 From: To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable [AKIN's note: the following is an ERNK Press Release on Ocalan's = Status in Rome, Italy] Press Release National Liberation Front of Kurdistan (ERNK) November 13, 1998 Ocalan Asks for Political Status The President of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, flew = into Rome=B9s Fiumicino Airport yesterday, November 12, 1998, and = applied for political status. He is now being held in Celio Hospital = near Rome as the authorities are dealing with necessary legal = procedures to accommodate his request. Any outside observer who takes the time to study the recent history = of the Kurdish Question can not fail to be impressed by the very = positive, patient and painstaking efforts President Ocalan has made = to the search for a peaceful political solution to the ongoing = conflict in Kurdistan. He has stood out for peace at a time when = Turkish state has pursued increasingly belligerent and provocative = tactics that have risked a full-scale conflict engulfing the whole of = the Middle East. In the face of all this, President Ocalan = courageously has kept to the path of peace. It is time he and the = party he represents were given the full credit for this and accorded = the respect of the International community. Mr. Ocalan has a crucial role to play in any future resolution of the = conflict and the world needs to recognize this. If there is ever to = be a peace settlement the status of President Ocalan and the PKK has = to be more widely acknowledged by official circles as the legitimate = representatives of the Kurdish people. The Kurds have repeatedly = demonstrated their support for the PKK and President Ocalan and who = are in we in the West to deny them the right to select their own = leaders. Isn=B9t this, after all, the essence of self-determination? President Ocalan=B9s efforts, if successful, will eventually be = applauded by the Turks and Kurds alike. By taking the initiative for = peace as Mr. Ocalan has done once again with the latest announcement = of a unilateral cease-fire he and the PKK represent the true = aspirations of the Kurdish people and many ordinary Turks as well. = They want nothing more than an end to a war that has left thousands = dead, the destruction of villages and a way of life that had been = ongoing for thousands of years. We believe it is the hope of the many individuals in Europe who see = themselves as the friends of Kurds and who understand the scale of = the suffering inflicted on the Kurdish people that the Italian = government must grant Abdullah Ocalan the political status. We call on all concerned to encourage the Italian government to take = this historic step which will also contribute to the political = solution of the Kurdish Question. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Nov 15 08:09:00 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 15 Nov 1998 08:09:00 Subject: DHKC: Italy must release Abdullah Öcalan immediately! Message-ID: DEVRIMCI HALK KURTULUS CEPHESI REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT Press Office Date: November 14, 1998 Declaration No. 76 ITALY MUST RELEASE ABDULLAH ?CALAN IMMEDIATELY! The arrest of PKK leader Abdullah ?calan by Italy is a part of the policy of terror and annihilation practised by imperialism towards revolutionary organisations and their leaders throughout the world. Imperialism, which has massacred millions of people because they wanted to lead an honourable life and in order to suppress the struggle of the world's peoples for independence, democracy and socialism, has not changed its character. At every opportunity it has announced that it can steep the world in blood in order to maintain its regime of tyranny and exploitation. Every act of repression, every arrest, every extermination drive which imperialism carries out against the world's peoples is illegitimate. It is the struggle the world's peoples have developed against fascism and imperialism which is legitimate. Up to the present, imperialism has carried out countless attacks and plots against revolutionary organisations and leaders in our land. On every occasion, imperialism was condemned by our peoples and its repression could neither prevent our anti-fascist struggle nor wipe out the revolutionaries. All it received was an increased measure of hatred from the peoples of the world. Every attack on revolutionaries and revolutionary leaders means supporting the Susurluk state and its fascist regime. Up to the present, the European Union, the USA and NATO have been supporting the massacres, the depriving of rights and freedom and the attacks by the Susurluk state with credits, weapons and technical assistance, and they are continuing to do so. For every drop of blood shed, for poverty and loss of freedom suffered by our peoples - Turks, Kurds, Laz, Cherkess, Bosnians, Georgians - the USA and the European Union share responsibility. These countries create collaborationist regimes behind a mask of human rights and democracy, and they support them and subject our people to tyranny. They compel our peoples to lead a life without dignity. By pursuing revolutionary leaders and instituting Interpol proceedings against them, revolutionary organisations are presented as criminal and their leaders as being guilty, in order to hurl mud at and hinder the liberation struggles of the peoples. Our peoples' struggles for liberation cannot be prevented. Before the imperialists who cooperate with the Susurluk state in Turkey talk of democracy and freedom, they should take their own history into account, the history they do not mention. In this hidden history they will see that they have shed the blood of dozens of millions of people. The German state more than anyone should look at its own history before setting up a hue and cry against revolutionaries. It should be ashamed of its history. If it cannot do this, it should at least keep its mouth shut. The struggle of the peoples against fascism is just and legitimate. The revolutionary leaders of the peoples are legitimate. It is the unjust fascist state in Turkey which is illegitimate, along with those who support it. The national struggle of the Kurdish people is also a just and legitimate struggle. For this reason, the Italian government must set Abdullah ?calan free immediately, without setting political preconditions. REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Nov 15 12:25:15 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 15 Nov 1998 12:25:15 Subject: Be a Part of Peace Effort; Urge Italian Gov. to Recognize and Suppor Message-ID: November 15, 1998 Dear Friends of Apo Network (FAN), As some of you may know, since November 12, 1998, the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, also known as Apo, is in custody in Rome, Italy. He has asked the Italian authorities to grant him political asylum as a Kurdish leader. As of this writing, his status has not been determined. Since Saturday, November 14, 1998, Apo himself has gone on a hunger strike to protest his detention. He has also urged the German government to recognize the political reality of the Kurds both in Germany and in Turkey and lend its voice to the cause of peace. Below you will find the fax numbers for a number of Italian government officials. We are urging you to write letters of support for Apo=B9s request for political asylum. In the words of a European parliamentarian,B3... the rivers of blood and the sacrifices of generations of Kurds ...=B2, must come to an end and Europe must put its weight behind peaceful overtures of Apo for reconciliation between the Turks and the Kurds. We look forward to a speedy action on your part. As always, we thank you for your interest in the Kurds. Sincerely yours, Kani Xulam On behalf of Friends of Apo Network (FAN) Massimo D=B9Alema Prime Minister of Italy Fax: 011.39.06.678.4121 Rosa Russo Iervolino Minister of Interior Fax: 011.39.06.465.49.534 Lamberto Dini Minister of Foreign Affairs Fax: 011.39.06.369.12.015 Oliviero Diliberto Minister of Justice Fax: 011.39.06.688.97.778 ***********************************************************************= *** For Peace to come to the Middle East, all nations of the region must enjoy the right of self-determination, not just the powerful. ******************************************************* List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Mon Nov 16 04:28:05 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 16 Nov 1998 04:28:05 Subject: Turkish Prison news Message-ID: Turkish Probe: Nov. 1, 1998 Tense amnesty waiting in prisons Same issues : Whenever Turkey's membership in the European Union comes up, it is always confronted with issues of human rights, the situation in the southeast and the condition of its prisons. Although the country promises to resolve these problems, foreign authorities do not seem persuaded. Eyeing each other : It has been reported that soldiers and wardens kept their eye on one another instead of controlling the prisoners, both in prison buildings and in going to hearings. Demands urgent : Prisoners' demands are so urgent that the demonstrations in various prisons initiated by political prisoners are being supported by common criminals for the first time in Turkey. ERHAN OZTURK The general amnesty issue which is raised by numerous party officials or chairmen at the beginning of election periods was broached by the Democratic Left Party (DSP) Deputy Chairwoman Rahsan Ecevit this time. The amnesty issue has even been discussed at the Turkish parliament. Yet, there has been no real progress on the amnesty issue despite the fact that parliament has been in session for one month and the legal and political prisoners in various prisons have shown their solidarity through demonstrations. The legal prisoners have one major demand from the authorities. They say that if this issue is not resolved as soon as possible, no one can guarantee that the demonstrations will end. While Turkey regards acceptance into the European Union as a matter of pride, it is always confronted with issues of human rights, the situation in the southeast and the condition of its prisons. Despite the fact that the country promises to resolve these problems in its meetings with the European Union, foreign authorities do not seem persuaded. It is even alleged that countries that have problems with Turkey seek to intensify the opposition and use it against this country. The poor condition of prisons, which has not improved over the years and is one of the major problems, was a thorn in the eye for many Turkish governments. The dire condition of prisons, the disregard of legal regulations, the use of handcuffs in bringing people to hearings and the rough treatment in general have led prisoners to go on hunger strikes. As a result, 12 individuals have died and a number of them were crippled. The hunger strike initiated by political prisoners made an impact not only in Turkey but in Europe too, which considered applying legal sanctions against Turkey. Sevket Kazan, ex-Minister of Justice and former member of the defunct Welfare Party, said at the beginning of the hunger strike that "These are minor things. We will not surrender to a bunch of terrorists." While a number of politicians followed Kazan's approach, other party representatives and members of civic organizations took significant steps for the resolution of the problem. With the end of the hunger strikes, the demands of political prisoners have been addressed to a large extent. However, the effect of reforms has not been felt all over Turkey yet. Or as prisoners have claimed, the public has not been sufficiently informed. Clash of authority exacerbates problems The fact that the external security of Turkish prisons is maintained by soldiers while the Ministries of Justice and the Interior also have authority over prisons causes problems for both the common criminals and the political prisoners. For instance, soldiers and the wardens, who are responsible for internal order, have had some very serious problems. The fact that drugs and weapons were smuggled into prisons by some soldiers and wardens during the past years caused problems between the soldiers and the Ministry of Justice. It has been reported that soldiers and wardens kept their eye on one another instead of controlling the prisoners, both in prison buildings and in going to hearings. Solidarity of common criminals and political prisoners In the past and today, party leaders and representatives raise Turkey's sensitive political issues and make recommendations as election periods approach. This behavior is generally seen as mere election strategy. The press often reports on the poor condition of political prisoners and common criminals in Turkey. For instance, prisoners and their relatives often repeat that 120 people stay in wards designed for 60, that prisoners have to sleep on the floors and that they often catch diseases. While the amnesty issue that was raised by Rahsan Ecevit, deputy chairwoman of the DSP and wife of deputy prime minister Bulent Ecevit, has been discussed in various circles, it was greeted with great enthusiasm among the prisoners. Furthermore, especially legal prisoners felt that they could start life anew after amnesty and made future plans, which in turn prompted the authorities to take more responsibility. It has even been stated that the issue would be resolved before the parliament went on holiday on October 29 and that there would definitely be a decision on partial amnesty shortly afterwards. Yet, the amnesty issue has not been discussed by government authorities recently and political prisoners and common criminals have risen in protest once again. Their demands are so urgent that the demonstrations in various prisons initiated by political prisoners are being supported by common criminals for the first time in Turkey. "If there is no amnesty, demonstrations Will continue." The latest events indicate that the amnesty issue will cause further problems for Turkey. Legal prisoner state that if party representatives who brought amnesty on the agenda do not grasp the gravity of the situation, they are likely to face very serious problems. "Amnesty is the most important problem for the prisoners. If the government does not reevaluate its decision on this matter and reach a decision, there will be major problems which will get worse with time. In terms of the amnesty issue and the kind of crimes, we are not in the same boat with the political prisoners. However we have common problems resulting from our life in prison. Therefore we keep the issue of amnesty on the agenda and support the prison demonstrations." The condition of prisons, which has caused many problems for Turkey both at home and abroad, is once again on the agenda. It is not clear how the issue will be resolved, but the solidarity between legal and political prisoners may cause new problems for Turkey. The parties that raised the amnesty issue and gave their support should take immediate action, or more demonstrations will be inevitable. What happened in prisons last week The "Apo uprising" has spread to prisons in various Turkish cities. The rebellion started at the Ceyhan and Bergama prisons and was meant as a move against Syria, which sent Abdullah Ocalan, head of the divisive PKK organization, to Moscow and then signed an agreement with Turkey. The rebellion then spread to the E type prison in Umraniye and to the Sagmalcilar, Cankiri, Bergama, Buca, Burca and Canakkale prisons. Prisoners at the Ankara Central Closed Prison called for amnesty as well. Sixty wardens including some in the Umraniye, Bergama, Buca, Cankiri and Canakkale prisons were taken hostage. Two soldiers and one fireman who tried to put out the fire at the Bergama prison were injured. While members of the outlawed Dev-Sol organization supported the demonstrations, it was stated that right-wing prisoners did not get involved. On the other hand, prisoners from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) set themselves on fire to protest Abdullah Ocalan's trip to Russia. Three out of five PKK militants who set themselves on fire died. At the uprising at the Umraniye E type prison, 32 officers and two prison directors were taken hostage by imprisoned PKK members. When news of the uprising spread, relatives of prisoners, including the father of Pinar Selek who was arrested for the fire at the Egyptian Bazaar, began to wait in front of the Umraniye Prison. In the meantime, Caner Akay, the Umraniye district officer, entered the Umraniye E type prison. 10 mobile striking buses, one armored personnel carrier and an ambulance were placed in front of the prison for security. Relatives of prisoners who were waiting in front of the prison jumped in front of the military convoy, fearing an imminent assault. The striking mobile forces intervened at the Umraniye prison and dispersed the relatives of the prisoners by using force. In his statement, Istanbul Governor Erol Cakir said, "32 officers and two prison directors were taken hostage. At this point, we are not planning on doing anything. However, the information we have indicates that these actions which have spread all over Turkey are being instigated at one place." Following a meeting between Yucel Sayman, head of the Istanbul Bar, and Ferzan Citici, Istanbul's republic prosecutor, three lawyers were allowed to go into the prison to talk with the authorities. At the Bergama E type prison, suspects for terrorist actions demonstrated early last week to protest the incarceration of inmates in the Ceyhan prison in special rooms. At the Ceyhan prison, there had been an attempt to escape by digging a tunnel beneath the prison building. The convicts at the Bergama prison broke the windows and started shouting slogans in the evening hours. They took hostage four guardians and started fires in the wards. A special team was formed at the republic prosecutor's office to deal with the rebellion. The gendarmerie and police took a series of precautions around the prison and inside it. Two soldiers and one fireman who intervened to put out the fire were injured and brought to the Bergama State Hospital. Bergama Republic Prosecutor Osman Vuraloglu stated that the necessary precautions had been taken, saying, "There have been no confrontations. We are in full control. We are not considering a police operation." At the Cankiri E type closed prison, there were uprisings in two wards where prisoners from Dev-Sol were incarcerated. Last Monday morning, a number of prisoners closed the prison doors, taking nine wardens hostage. While authorities have met to find a solution to the problems, police, gendarmes, firemen and ambulances wait ready in case new events take place. In the Izmir Buca closed prison, a fire started in one of the women's wards and the rebellion quickly spread to other parts of the prison. As a result of the fires in Blocks Two and Three, a number of policemen, gendarmes and firemen were brought to the prison. One officer was stabbed with a skewer. While the fire was extinguished, the rebellion spread to the wards of the illegal Revolutionary Peoples' Liberation Party (DHKP) and PKK members. At the Ankara Central Closed prison, there was a rebellion in the section of the political prisoners. Other prisoners joined in the rebellion, asking for amnesty. It was reported that gun shots were heard from the prison wards. Cevdet Saral, head of the Ankara police forces, went into the prison, followed by the striking mobile forces that surrounded the prison. Fire troopers and an ambulance were called to the prison. According to preliminary information, some of the prisoners were wounded. At the Bursa special prison, a group of prisoners took hostage four wardens and started a hunger strike. Reportedly, gendarmes and striking mobile force members took security measures around the prison. At the Canakkale E type prison, prisoners closed the doors to the section where the wards are located, taking hostage nine wardens. In a public statement after this event, Minister of Justice Hasan Denizkurdu said, "Everything is under control. We are collecting information on the developments. Thirty-four prison officers are being held hostage in Istanbul. With instructions issuing from one center, an insurrection has started in a number of prisons. We will not intervene. We will resolve the problem very soon." -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 07:36:35 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 07:36:35 Subject: Mainstream warnews from Turkish Kurdistan Message-ID: DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Nov 17 (AFP) - Four people were injured and person died in a Kurdish rebel suicide attack on a police station in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday, authorities in the regional capital Diyarbakir said. A woman, about 30 years of age and thought to be a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), triggered an explosive device outside the station in Yuksekova near the Iranian border. She was killed in the explosion. Two civilians and two members of the paramilitary police were injured. It was the first such attack since PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was arrested in Rome last week. Three Kurdish prisoners meanwhile attempted to set themselves alight in a prison in Batman, also in the southeast of Turkey. The prisoners doused themselves with cologne and set the alcohol alight, to protest Ocalan's arrest. Prison guards put out the flames, but the men had to be hospitalised with serious burns, prison officials said. More than 600 Kurdish prisoners in Turkish jails on Monday began a hungerstrike in solidarity with the PKK leader. Security has been stepped up in Turkish towns and in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of the country since the arrest, against expected PKK attacks. Leave of absence was cancelled for troops deployed in the region and reinforcements were sent to the area. Special security precautions were also taken in the prisons, authorities said. Turkey has requested Ocalan's extradition to face charges of treason, but the PKK leader has applied for political asylum in Italy. Ocalan is held responsible by Turkey for more than 30,000 deaths in his organization's armed struggle for Kurdish autonomy in the Anatolia region. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 12:16:16 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 12:16:16 Subject: Friends and foes of PKK clash in downtown Istanbul over Ocalan Message-ID: ISTANBUL, Nov 17 (AFP) - Pro-Kurdish demonstrators and Turkish nationalists clashed in downtown Istanbul Tuesday after a PKK demonstration in support of its leader Abdullah Ocalan, eyewitnesses said. Supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) shouted slogans and were attacked by a crowd of nationalists, they said. Some 150 PKK supporters gathered on Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul's main shopping street, and marched towards Taksim Square. The group was attacked by about 200 people, and a street battle ensued. Police called in reinforcements and began arresting the PKK demonstrators to save them from being lynched, the Anatolia news agency said. Several PKK demonstrators sought refuge in Saint Antoine Church on Istiklal Caddesi. When security forces tried to evacuate some demonstrators in police buses, the angry crowd attacked the vehicles and tried to drag the PKK supporters out, Anatolia said. It was the first clash of this kind since the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Italy last Thursday. Police made several arrests. Eyewitnesses said at least one man was injured. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 15:41:34 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:41:34 Subject: Reuters: Austria steps up border checks to control Kurds Message-ID: Austria steps up border checks to control Kurds 07:06 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Austria tightened controls on its border with Germany on Tuesday as Kurds from across Europe travelled to Rome via Austria to demonstrate in support of detained Kurdish guerrilla chief Abdullah Ocalan. Traffic crossing the border, where controls were abolished last December on Austria's accession to the Schengen open border area, would be subject to spot checks, said a spokesman for the Tyrolean police. Three buses with around 200 Kurds seeking to enter Italy at the Tyrolian Brenner border crossing without valid passports were sent back to Germany. Another three buses with Kurds holding legal travel documents were allowed to travel on to Rome, the spokesman said. Since Friday between 1,000 and 1,500 Kurds resident in Austria have travelled to Italy to take part in demonstrations in support of Ocalan, a spokesman for the National Liberation Front of Kurdistan said in Vienna. In addition, some 50 Kurds had launched a hunger strike in Vienna on Sunday to back the protests, the spokesman said. Ocalan, the founder of the the leftist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has led a lengthy struggle against Turkish authorities for Kurdish self-rule in which thousands have been killed. He was arrested trying to enter Italy on a false passport. Turkey is demanding his extradition. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 15:43:17 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:43:17 Subject: Turkey: Kurd protesters seek refuge in Italian-run church Message-ID: Kurd protesters seek refuge in Italian-run church 07:53 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern ISTANBUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Turkish police on Tuesday detained a group of Kurdish demonstrators who had briefly taken refuge in an Italian-run church from a crowd of angry passers-by. The 15 or so Kurds had been protesting nearby at the detention in Italy of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, also known as ``Apo.'' Witnesses said the protestors handed themselves over to police at the red-brick San Antonio di Padua church in the heart of Istanbul after a short spell inside the building. The Kurds had fled a crowd of angry shoppers and passers-by who had objected to their protest. ``Damn the PKK, Damn Italy,'' chanted a crowd outside the Gothic church, a throwback to the days when Istanbul had a large Christian population. Anti-rebel sentiment in Turkey is running high following reports in the Turkish press that Italy was sympathetic to Ocalan's application for asylum and was unlikely to hand him over to Turkish justice. Turkey holds Ocalan responsible for more than 29,000 deaths in a 14-year conflict between security forces and the PKK, fighting for self rule for Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast. Full story Kurd protesters seek refuge in Italian-run church 07:53 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern ISTANBUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Turkish police on Tuesday detained a group of Kurdish demonstrators who had briefly taken refuge in an Italian-run church from a crowd of angry passers-by. The 15 or so Kurds had been protesting nearby at the detention in Italy of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, also known as ``Apo.'' Witnesses said the protestors handed themselves over to police at the red-brick San Antonio di Padua church in the heart of Istanbul after a short spell inside the building. The Kurds had fled a crowd of angry shoppers and passers-by who had objected to their protest. ``Damn the PKK, Damn Italy,'' chanted a crowd outside the Gothic church, a throwback to the days when Istanbul had a large Christian population. Anti-rebel sentiment in Turkey is running high following reports in the Turkish press that Italy was sympathetic to Ocalan's application for asylum and was unlikely to hand him over to Turkish justice. Turkey holds Ocalan responsible for more than 29,000 deaths in a 14-year conflict between security forces and the PKK, fighting for self rule for Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 15:53:16 1998 From: ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 15:53:16 Subject: ``protest to the death'' for Ocalan Message-ID: Kurds promise ``protest to the death'' for Ocalan 08:33 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern By Philip Pullella ROME, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Leaning over the bonnet of the white car where he sleeps with three other Kurds, Mehmet Emin brushes his teeth with mineral water and begins another day of life on the street to demand the release of Abdullah Ocalan. Emin, a 30-year-old who drives a bus at the airport in Duisburg, Germany, is one of some 4,000 Kurds who have come to Rome from all over Europe. They are holding what they call a ``protest to the death'' until the Kurdish leader gets political asylum. Emin's current home, a dusty old Opel Kadett with German plates, is among the best housing for Kurds camped out around Rome's Celio military hospital. He is lucky. Many of his comrades sleep on the street, covered by blankets dispensed by local charities. ``There are more than 40 million Kurds and they don't have their own state. They should have a state or at least their democratic rights,'' said Emin. After a quick cup of weak but hot tea dispensed by a Rome communist organisation, Emin, a native of Batman in Turkey, took his place among the demonstrators. The chanting among the crowd rose with the early morning temperature. ``An eye for an eye! A tooth for a tooth! We are with you until death, Ocalan,'' they chanted, their fists clenched and eyes red with fatigue and passion. Ocalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which Turkey holds responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in a 14-year fight for self-determination, was arrested at Rome's Fiumicino airport on Thursday. Italian leaders across the political spectrum have supported his demands for political asylum, creating a vexing political problem for relations with NATO-ally Turkey. Ocalan, known by his nom de guerre -- ``Apo'' -- is considered a terrorist by the Turkish government. But on the pavement in front of the military hospital, he is a saint, his flower bedecked pictures icons. For many in the crowd, the yellow, green and red banners of the PKK also served as a inadequate blanket against the morning chill. The five-day vigil has been largely peaceful, though some Turkish journalists have accused the Kurds of roughing them up. In the middle of the crowd, Asiyon Can, 28, a Kurdish woman with a slight body but fire in her eyes picked up a red battery-operated magaphone to lead the morning cheering. ``We will stay here until Ocalan's political situation is cleared up. We will stay here until the last drop of our blood,'' she told a reporter in Turkish, speaking through an interpreter. ``Every Kurdish woman is like a bomb. If they don't do what we want, if they don't release our leader, we are going to explode like a bomb. We are ready to die. It has been known to happen before,'' she said. ``Ocalan represents 40 million people and if he is not released it is like jailing 40 million Kurds,'' she said. People trying to get close to the demonstrators are frisked by members of a self-styled Kurdish security operation. ``We don't want anyone to try to do something and then blame it on us,'' said Dogan, one of the Kurdish security men wearing red arm bands. Like many men and women in the crowd, Dogan, who would not give his last name, said he was willing to die for Ocalan. The possibility of losing his factory job in Switzerland was the last thing on his mind. ``How can I care about my job if he represents my life?'' Dogan said in the broken Italian he has picked up in an Italian canton of Switzerland. ``I am willing to burn myself right here for Apo. He is my first and only boss.'' List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:07:04 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:07:04 Subject: Turkey/DHKC: The Susurluk state is responsible for disappearances Message-ID: DEVRIMCI HALK KURTULUS CEPHESI Press Office Date: November 17, 1998 Declaration No. 77 THE SUSURLUK STATE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DISAPPEARANCES The state's policy of making people disappear while they are in police custody, which has been developed in the 1990s for use against revolutionary democrats, especially us, pursues the aim of intimidating the people and the revolutionaries. The implementation of this policy of terror has seen the disappearance of hundreds of revolutionary democrats while they were in police custody. We have stopped asking who has caused disappearances, and how. For the answer to this question is very obvious: the Susurluk state, that is, the army, the governments, the police, the MIT (National Intelligence Organisation). All the institutions of the state and all those who serve the state bear responsibility for the disappeared. Neither disappearances, massacres, arrests; not a single act of terror could intimidate the people or prevent us from waging our revolutionary struggle. Nor will it be prevented. The repellent character of the Susurluk state, its oppression and exploitation cannot be concealed by any policy of repression. We will expose the disgraceful acts of the Susurluk state which they are trying to conceal with terror. In the course of time we will tear off the masks they are seeking to wear in front of the people. Neither our friends nor our enemies should have any doubt on this point. Our history is the best proof of that. This is the first time in our country's history that four revolutionaries were made to disappear at the same time. This is what happened on March 31, 1998 in Izmir. The message from the Susurluk state is clear. This message is an even wider-ranging declaration of war on the people and the revolutionaries. The disappearances of our comrades Neslihan Uslu, Hasan Aydogan, Metin Andac and Mehmet Ali Mandal were a first step towards that. But their disappearances are also a barricade erected in front of this policy. The proof of this is the way our people have come out in support of our four disappeared comrades, the continuation of the revolutionary struggle and our actions. Not a single crime carried out against the people and the revolutionaries can go unavenged. Sooner or later a reckoning will be demanded. The state is the culprit - all institutions of the state and its servants. The state cannot escape being called to account. In this way we will continue to demand to know where the disappeared are, and we will demand a reckoning for them. We want a reckoning for our hundreds of disappeared, for our thousands of murdered people. Sooner or later the state will give an answer to the question, "WHERE ARE OUR DISAPPEARED?" There is no alternative. To demand a reckoning for Neslihan, Hasan, Metin and Mehmet Ali, on November 16, 1998, at 2000, the Avcilar tax office in Istanbul, one of the institutions of the state, which exploits the people and murders the revolutionaries and the people through its depredations, was bombed and laid waste by our fighters. We will continue our reprisal measures until the fate of the disappeared is made known. REVOLUTIONARY PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FRONT --- Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front) DHKC Informationbureau Amsterdam http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:09:29 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:09:29 Subject: Kurds torch themselves in Moscow protest Message-ID: FOCUS-Kurds torch themselves in Moscow protest 01:28 p.m Nov 17, 1998 Eastern MOSCOW, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Two Kurds doused themselves with petrol and set themselves ablaze near the Kremlin on Tuesday to protest against the treatment of Turkish Kurd separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been arrested in Rome. Part of a series of protests, including a suicide bombing in Turkey on Tuesday, the self-immolations brought the issue back to the city where, Kurdish activists said, Ocalan had been refused asylum. He was detained in Italy last week after arriving on a flight from Moscow. The Russian government had denied knowledge of his whereabouts when accused by Turkey of harbouring Ocalan. Makhir Valat, representative in Moscow of Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), told a news conference to publicise the self-immolations that the Russian government had been pressured into refusing him asylum. Another Kurdish spokesman said Ocalan had been in Moscow from October 9 until he left for Italy on November 12. The two male protesters poured petrol over themselves and the road in front of Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, at 3:40 a.m. (0040 GMT) on a bitterly cold night, a police spokesman said. They writhed and screamed as flames burned though their clothes and lit up the street near the entrance to Red Square. Police quickly extinguished the flames and the men were taken to hospital with severe burns. A statement issued by a group calling itself the Kurdistan Committee said the pair, whom it named as Dzhikhat and Taikhan, left a letter saying they were protesting at efforts against Ocalan led by ``imperialist America, Israel and fascist Turkey.'' It said one of the men was in critical condition. ``They said they could no longer stand what is happening to the Kurds so they burned themselves,'' Valat later told the PKK news conference. Ocalan, founder of the leftist PKK, has led a long struggle against Turkish authorities for Kurdish self-rule in which thousands have been killed. The Soviet Union was a Cold War-era ally of the PKK, and Ocalan was widely believed to have fled to Moscow last month after Syria agreed with Turkey to expel him from his base on its territory. Syria has denied sheltering him on its territory. Ocalan was captured in Rome's Fiumicino airport last Friday after arriving on an Aeroflot flight with a false passport. Turkey has demanded he be extradited. Kurds have launched protests and hunger strikes in several European cities. There has been speculation in the Russian press that Moscow assisted in Ocalan's capture and may have received favours from Ankara in return. The daily business newspaper Kommersant, citing a source in Russian security services, said: ``Ankara promised to decrease the activities of its spy agencies in Russia, including (the breakaway Moslem region of) Chechnya.'' Valat said Ocalan had tried to win political asylum in Russia but failed. ``Unfortunately, the Russian government, under world pressure, wanted the leader of Free Kurdistan to leave Russia,'' he said. He added that Ocalan turned to Italy thinking that recent political changes there would create a more hospitable climate for him to win asylum. An Italian law barring the extradition of suspects to countries which have the death penalty has complicated the issue of extraditing him to Turkey. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:09:37 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:09:37 Subject: Kurds protest in Bonn Message-ID: Kurds protest in Bonn against Ocalan extradition 09:23 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern BONN, Nov 17 (Reuters) - German police said about 4,000 Kurds protested in Bonn on Tuesday against the possible extradition from Italy of Kurdish guerrilla Abdullah Ocalan who is Turkey's most wanted man. About 50 of the Kurds were on hunger strike, police said. Carrying banners with pictures of Ocalan, leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), demonstrators marched through the city from the government quarter to the Interior Ministry. Ocalan was arrested at Rome's Fiumicino airport on Thursday and was being held at an undisclosed location. Turkey has demanded his extradition but the request is unlikely to be met unless Ankara scraps capital punishment. Under the Italian constitution, Rome can not extradite suspects to a country where the death penalty is in force. Ocalan has issued a statement saying he would work to halt terrorism. Some 4,000 Kurdish supporters of Ocalan from across Europe have gathered in Rome to hold what has been a largely peaceful vigil to press for their leader's release. Germany is home to more than two million Turkish citizens, around a quarter of whom are Kurds. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:09:38 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:09:38 Subject: Turkey's Demirel lands in Vienna to muted protest Message-ID: Turkey's Demirel lands in Vienna to muted protest 07:53 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Suleyman Demirel arrived in Vienna on Tuesday for a three-day official visit oversqhadowed by his country's dispute with Italy over the fate of Kurdish guerrilla chief Abdullah Ocalan. Ocalan, who Turkey holds responsible for thousands of deaths during a 14-year-old fight for Kurdish self-determination, was arrested in Rome on Thursday. Italy is considering Ocalan's request for political asylum alongside Ankara's bid to have him extradited but says he will not be handed over as long as Turkey retains the death penalty. Demirel was greeted by his Austrian counterpart Thomas Klestil at the sumptuous Hofburg palace, where Kurdish protesters demanding freedom for Ocalan and Kurdistan were outnumbered by police and security forces. About 1,000 officers were deployed for Demirel's visit in the biggest operation of its kind since a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just over a year ago, the Austrian news agency APA said. A Vienna police official said security was unsually tight because Kurdish groups were expected to turn out in large numbers to press their case for self-rule. Some 20 demonstrators gathered in front of the Hofburg ahead of Demirel's arrival while organisers said a much bigger rally was planned for 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) at a railway station in the west of the capital. Some 50 Kurds went on hunger strike in Vienna on Sunday to support protests in Italy which have drawn thousands of Kurds from across Europe. Austrian police said on Tuesday they had tightened checks on the border with Germany in an attempt to control the flow. Austrian border officials said they turned back three buses with around 200 Kurds from Germany seeking to enter Italy at the Brenner border crossing because they did not have valid passports. Three other buses carrying Kurds with legal documents were allowed to continue on to Rome. The heads of state were scheduled to brief reporters on their meeting, at which Turkey's bid for membership of the European Union was expected to be discussed, at a news conference. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:20:16 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:20:16 Subject: Kurd Suicide Bomber Dies Amid Row With Italy Message-ID: Kurd Suicide Bomber Dies Amid Row With Italy 01:38 p.m Nov 17, 1998 Eastern By Alistair Bell ANKARA (Reuters) - A Kurdish guerrilla killed herself and wounded six people in a suicide bomb attack in Turkey Tuesday as Kurds across Europe staged protests linked to the detention in Rome of guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. Apparent Italian reluctance to hand over Ocalan for trial on charges of high treason has outraged Turkey's government and businesses. Strident press attacks accusing Italy of perfidy have stirred popular anger toward Rome, and business groups have warned of a possible boycott of Italian goods. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, visiting Vienna, said his country could guarantee a ``free and fair'' trial for the man Turkey holds responsible for more than 29,000 deaths. But Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema said a pledge from Ocalan to work to halt ``terrorism'' made it easier to grant his request for political asylum, pledging that Rome would not bow to undue pressure to hand him over. Italy's constitution prevents the extradition of suspects to countries such as Turkey where the death penalty is in force. Turkish security officials have warned that Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters could attempt spectacular attacks to protest at the seizure of Ocalan, who has spearheaded a 14-year campaign for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurd southeast, at Rome airport last week. ``A woman terrorist set off a bomb strapped to her body as she was crossing the road outside the gendarmerie headquarters around 09:00 a.m. (0700 GMT),'' said Tacettin Ozeren, local governor of Yuksekova town in southeast Turkey where the bomb attack took place. Four officers and two passers-by were wounded. The PKK, seeking Kurdish self-rule, had not staged a suicide bombing since a string of attacks in 1996 killed several policemen, soldiers and guerrillas. Tuesday's attack was part of a wave of protests throughout Europe at the arrest of Ocalan, seized trying to enter Italy on a false passport. He is now the focus of an acrimonious wrangle between Italy and Turkey, which demands he be handed over. Two Kurds suffered serious burns after dousing themselves with petrol and setting themselves ablaze in central Moscow. The men unfurled a banner and burst into flames outside Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament, police said. Police put the fires out and took the men to hospital. German police said about 4,000 Kurds protested in Bonn against the possible extradition of Ocalan with about 50 of them on hunger strike. They also gathered in Vienna where Demirel was meeting Austrian President Thomas Klestil. In Rome, 4,000 Kurd supporters from all over Europe have gathered to hold what has been a largely a peaceful vigil to press for Ocalan's release. Women wearing multi-colored traditional dress and wrapped in shawls and scarves mingled with the young who danced to Kurdish music, many holding the PKK flag and banners. Hundreds of jailed PKK rebels in jails across Turkey have begun hunger strikes in a show of loyalty for ``Apo,'' as Ocalan is popularly known. Since Turkey forced Syria to oust Ocalan from Damascus last month, 27 inmates have set fire to themselves, and 11 died of burns. In Istanbul, Turkish police arrested some 15 Kurdish demonstrators who had briefly taken refuge in an Italian-run church from a crowd of angry passers-by. Witnesses said the protesters handed themselves over to police at the red-brick San Antonio di Padua church in the heart of Istanbul after a short spell inside the building. ``Damn the PKK, Damn Italy,'' chanted a crowd of Turks outside the church, a relic of the days when the city had a large Christian population. Housewives gathered in front of a Benetton clothes shop in Istanbul to urge a boycott on Italian-made goods, while a furniture store nearby splashed a sign reading ``We Don't Sell Italian Furniture'' across its windows in red letters. Turkey's cabinet met Tuesday to discuss a repeal of capital punishment, but concluded that a series of censure motions against the fragile coalition meant the chances of passing legislation were slight. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl Tue Nov 17 16:27:01 1998 From: ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl (ozgurluk.xs4all.nl at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl) Date: 17 Nov 1998 16:27:01 Subject: Kurds in Romania on hunger strike Message-ID: Kurds in Romania on hunger strike for Ocalan 09:42 a.m. Nov 17, 1998 Eastern By Roxana Dascalu BUCHAREST, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Thirty-nine Kurdish refugees refused food for a third day on Tuesday and urged Italy to grant political asylum to Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is wanted in Turkey on charges of treason. The protesters huddled inside a Kurdish community centre in central Bucharest adorned with portraits of Ocalan, whose nom de guerre, ``Apo,'' they said means uncle in Kurdish. Kurdish women sat nearby sewing banners with groups brewing tea for the hunger strikers. A doctor checked the strikers and urged those with low blood pressure to take more liquids. In Rome, 4,000 Kurds come from all over Europe to campaign for Ocalan's release. Leaders of Romania's 5,000-strong Kurdish community said they wanted to rally sympathy for Ocalan, the leader of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas, who was arrested at Rome's Fiumicino airport last week. Aihan Dogan, 25, a member of the strike committee, described him as ``the symbol of liberty and hope for the Kurdish people. Ocalan should be granted the status of political refugee.'' ``Ocalan is everything for our movement,'' said Hanie, 30, one of seven women on hunger strike. The activists said they were members of the Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK) and described themselves as sympathisers of the PKK. Local Kurdish leaders vowed to stick to peaceful protests. Kurdish shops closed on Monday in support of the PKK leader. Romania has fostered ties with Turkey, the fifth-largest investor in the ex-communist country. In recent years, reports issued by Romanian intelligence services years cited various Kurdish liberation movements among potential terrorist threats. Ankara is pressing Italy to extradite Ocalan, Turkey's most wanted man for the last 20 years. He is seeking political asylum in Italy and on Monday he said he was ready to work to help stop terrorism. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Wed Nov 18 08:35:19 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 18 Nov 1998 08:35:19 Subject: Turk police in nationwide crackdown on Kurd party Message-ID: Turk police in nationwide crackdown on Kurd party 09:49 a.m. Nov 18, 1998 Eastern ISTANBUL, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Turkey's main legal Kurdish party said on Wednesday hundreds of its members had been detained in a nationwide police crackdown as public tension grew over the fate of arrested Kurd rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. ``There are efforts to create Kurd-Turk hatred, but we call on everyone to act with responsibility and refrain from acts that would incite enmity,'' People's Democracy Party (HADEP) board member Mehmet Satan told a news conference. Five busloads of riot policemen were stationed outside the party building in an upmarket Istanbul shopping district as he spoke. Elsewhere, far-right nationalists have staged protests in front of HADEP buildings. Italian police arrested Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), last week on arrival at a Rome airport. Initial Turkish elation at his arrest has turned to anger amid signs that Rome might not extradite him to Turkey. The mainstream Turkish press has fuelled the public's sense of outrage, in part by targeting HADEP and the Human Rights Association, both of which advocate a peaceful solution to the guerrilla conflict in southeastern Turkey. More than 500 people have been detained in police raids on HADEP offices in Istanbul, the southern town of Mersin, and the towns of Malatya, Kars, Diyarbakir and Elazig in eastern Turkey, party officials told Reuters. Turkey holds Ocalan and his PKK responsible for the deaths of more than 29,000 people in 14 years of conflict in southeastern Turkey where the PKK seeks self rule. Anatolian news agency said Turks and 50 HADEP supporters swapped punches in a busy shopping district in Izmir, western Turkey, on Tuesday night. A court in Ankara on Tuesday sentenced HADEP leader Murat Bozlak to a year in jail for speeches made in 1993. Bozlak and 14 other members of a now-banned predecessor party were found to have spread ``separatist propaganda'' in various publications and speeches. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Nov 19 03:44:02 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 19 Nov 1998 03:44:02 Subject: Turkish-state activities in Europe Message-ID: "Yilmaz has called on the two million Turks living in Europe to press for Ocalan's extradition." --- List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Thu Nov 19 11:17:30 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 19 Nov 1998 11:17:30 Subject: Policeraid in Cologne against Turkish publisher Message-ID: PRISON WATCH INTERNATIONAL Contact address: Kalkarer Str. 2. D-50733 COLOGNE Tel: 0221-760 76 56 Fax: 0221-760 28 67 November 18, 1998 URGENT According to a statement of the ANADOLU Publishers, the police brutally attacked the co-workers of the publishing firm on November 17, 1998. Besides several publications in opposition to Turkey, ANADOLU Publishers also distributed the Kurtulus magazine. This police action was the first offensive of the German authorities after the banning order issued by the former minister of the Interior Manfred Kanther against the DHKP-C (Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front), which fights against the regime in Turkey. Kanther, giving the banning order without taking in account the ongoing trial against presumed members of the DHKP-C, stated that the Kurtulus weekly, still appearing legally in Turkey, was the press organ of the DHKP-C. While the new minister of the Interior, Otto Schilly, hasn't made a statement regarding the issue yet after the formation of the SPD-Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen government coalition, it now came to the apprehended police action against the residence of the Kurtulus-representation in Germany/Cologne. According to the co-workers of the publishing firm, a search was carried out to find evidence against a person who is at trial at present in Hamburg. However, there must be ulterior motives, we dare say, for this, as will become obvious, arbitrary and aggressive police raid. Because on November 12, the police president of Turkey, Necati Bilican, was on an official visit with the Bundeskriminalamt (federal criminal investigation department) in Cologne where, as could be read in the press as well, "a series of talks" were held. What the talks were about remains a secret at the moment. But attacks of this nature against the opposition from Turkey have regularly occurred after official visits from politicians, police chiefs or other high state servants from Turkey. This shows in what measure the methods, applied in Turkey against the opposition from the left, are being imported to Germany, what level the co-operation with the Turkish regime, accused of thousands of minor and major crimes against the Kurdish and other peoples in Turkey, has reached. How the "search" in the ANADOLU publishers was conducted: At 8.45 a.m., nine officers, among them seven plainclothes officers from the BKA-Cologne, 1 observer as well as two interpreters, entered the office. When the persons present in the office asked for the search warrant, it was said "It should be enough for you that we are police officers". The officers stated that nobody was the enter the rooms they were searching. They threatened with expulsion and arrest in case people would insist. Although it was attempted several times to detain the persons present in one room, the demand to be present at the search was accepted in the end. The search continued with emptying and dislocating all the cupboards, spreading the items across the floor. At that time, two visitors were being arrested. Without any explanation, one of them was handcuffed and dragged to a police car at the arms and legs. Later, dozens more of police cars from the BKA-Bonn and the Cologne police department arrived. The number of officers in the office increased to more than 30 at once. The co-workers of the publishers firm reacted against the police, who attempted to provocate with insults and accusations, by yelling slogans at the time of the arrest and banging on the windows. The police, becoming more aggressive, thereupon began to hit upon four persons who were dragged to the floor, thrown against the wall, and arrested. The owner of the publishing firm was chained at the hands and feet, beaten and arrested. On the way to the police station, the mistreatments continued and this person suffered from a burst right eardrum. Another co-worker, handcuffed, fell from the stairs and hit the wall head first after a policeman tore the banisters away. The other co-workers were thrown to the floor as well, beaten up, and arrested. Even during the six hours they were in police custody, the handcuffs were not removed. The co-workers and the owner of the publishing firm were released at nightfall. 3 computers, 1 monitor, 1 printer, some 200 diskettes, 10 books from the archive, hundreds of magazines, special issues and leaflets were confiscated. On the other hand, the library books were scattered around, shelves were damaged, wall-tiles were torn out, together with the banisters, curtains torn up, light bulbs removed and crushed, and the entire office was messed up. According to the latest information, one of the arrested persons, Mesut Demirel, was taken into custody and he is now supposed to be in the detention facility of Bochum. At the moment there is no information about the reasons of this detention. We call upon the democratic public in the Federal Republic of Germany to protest against this brutal police operation, to inquire for the reasons for the arrest and detention of Hakan Akmaz and Mesut Demirel, and to demand their immediate release. Protest fax numbers: BKA: 0611-55 21 41 Ministry of the Interior: 0228-681 46 65 Ministry of Justice: 0228- 584 525 Cologne Police Department: 0221-229 20 02 Federal Chancellor Office: 0228- 56 23 57 Statements of support, please address to the ANADOLU Publishers: Fax: 0221-760 28 87 -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sun Nov 22 08:49:06 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 22 Nov 1998 08:49:06 Subject: Turkey: Two Kurds die in custody after police crackdown Message-ID: Two Kurds die in custody after police crackdown 11:07 a.m. Nov 21, 1998 Eastern DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Two Kurds died in police custody after being detained in a nationwide crackdown on Turkey's main legal Kurdish party, security officials said on Saturday. Officials in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir said 18-year-old Halit Cakir had died of a heart attack shortly after being detained by police in the local offices of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP). Separately, the governor of Kocaeli in western Turkey said 46-year-old Metin Yurtsever died overnight in police custody, Anatolian news agency reported. Turkish officials denied any wrongdoing, but HADEP officials said police were at fault in the death of both men. ``The man in Kocaeli died after being beaten by nationalist protesters, while the man in Diyarbakir died after being tortured in police custody,'' a HADEP official in Istanbul told Reuters. Security forces have detained at least 600 HADEP supporters in a week of raids sparked by the arrest of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan in Italy last week. Initial Turkish elation at the arrest of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) chief Ocalan in Rome turned to anger after Italy dismissed Turkish demands to extradite him. Far right groups chanting anti-PKK slogans have staged violent protests outside the offices of HADEP and the Human Rights Association, both of which advocate a peaceful solution to the guerrilla conflict in southeast Turkey. Turkey holds Ocalan and his PKK responsible for the deaths of more than 29,000 people in 14 years of conflict in the mainly Kurdish southeast, where the PKK seeks self-rule. -- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 24 17:34:48 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Nov 1998 17:34:48 Subject: Digested Articles on the Kurds and Ocalan (Lies, Facts and Propagan Message-ID: Topics: Turkey: Germany to seek extradition Yilmaz drops insistence on extradition of Kurdish rebel to Turkey Ankara softens line against Rome over Kurd rebel, but boycott deepens No official boycott of Italian goods,says Ankara ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 9:34:31 PST From: C-upi at clari.net (UPI) Subject: Turkey: Germany to seek extradition Message-ID: Keywords: international, US government, non-usa government, terrorism ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz says Germany might change its mind and seek the extradition of Kurdish rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan from Italy. Germany has a long-standing warrant for Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party or the PKK for attacks on Turkish targets there. Turkey blames Ocalan for the death of about 30,000 people and have asked for his extradition. Italy refused to hand over Ocalan saying Italian law banned handing over a detainee to a country that has the death penalty. Turkey had not carried out the death penalty for the last 14 years and is now preparing a draft bill to abolish capital punishment. Ocalan was arrested in a Rome airport on Nov. 12 after arriving from Russia where he fled from Syria. Yilmaz noted that Italy's freeing Ocalan would ``not only deeply offend Turkish people but also be a blow to justice.'' ``There are indications that Germany might extradite him,'' he told his parliamentary group meeting. Nationwide street demonstrations and protests against Italy continued today. People gathered in front of the Italian Embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul all day to show their anger chanting slogans against Ocalan. Earlier the Defense Ministry announced that Italian companies would not be permitted to bid for Turkish government contracts for the sale of $ 3.5 billion in defense equipment. Other state and private companies doing business with Italy started announcing they would join the boycott of Italian products. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema was reported as saying that Turkey's attempt to boycott Italian goods could lead to far larger European reprisal. He said Italy is a member of the European Union and it should be the European Commission that deals with issues of trade relations. Washington, which has condemned the PKK as a terrorist organization, has sided with Ankara on the issue of Ocalan's extradition. Local media reports speculated that U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was urging Germany to request Ocalan from Italy, they said. The European soccer organization UEFA, postponed for a week Wednesday's scheduled European Champions' League match to be played between Italian and Turkish teams over ``security concerns,'' they said. The UEFA's decision further enraged the Turks whose soccer authorities said they had taken measures to ensure safety. They accused the UEFA of mixing politics with sports. The nationwide reactions to Italy have overshadowed the government crisis that now looms before the country, according to political observers. The minority coalition government of Yilmaz is expected to fall Wednesday when Parliament votes on censure motions submitted last week by three opposition parties. The leftist Republican People's Party, which was backing the government from outside, had abandoned Yilmaz early this month accusing him of tampering with the privatization of a state bank. Yilmaz denies any wrongdoing in the sell-off of Turk Ticaret Bankasi, saying he had intervened to stop the Bank going into the hands of an underworld boss. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 12:16:22 PST From: C-afp at clari.net (AFP) Subject: Yilmaz drops insistence on extradition of Kurdish rebel to Turkey Message-ID: ANKARA, Nov 24 (AFP) - Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on Tuesday relented on his insistence that Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan be extradited to Turkey and said Ocalan could be extradited to Germany or sent to a third country. "Political asylum in Italy or extradition to Turkey are both unlikely," the Anatolia news agency quoted Yilmaz as telling his Motherland Party's parliamentary group. "It is possible that he will be extradited to Germany or sent to a third country," Yilmaz said. The German government repeated its position that Ocalan's fate was a matter to be settled between Turkey and Italy. Turkish Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu said after a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Hertha Daeubler-Gmelin, that Bonn wanted the matter to be resolved between Ankara and Rome. Germany had no plans to become involved, Denizkurdu's written statement said. On Monday, a German government spokesman in Bonn stated that Germany was not planning to ask for Ocalan's extradition. Italy has called on Germany to take Ocalan off its hands. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema is due in Bonn on Friday to discuss the issue with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Yilmaz said he expected new developments in the coming days. "Our foremost aim is to stop the separatist terror organisation's actions," Yilmaz said. "Whichever country the head of the terror organisation may end up in, we intend to stop him from carrying on his actions of the past." Ankara had so far insisted that the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), arrested in Rome earlier this month, be extradited to Turkey. Italy's refusal to do so has embittered relations between the two countries. Yilmaz also called on the Turkish people to keep calm in the dispute with Italy. "Our countrymen must keep a cool head in their protests," he said. "They are justified on this issue, but they must not put themselves in the wrong." Anti-Italian protests have been held all over Turkey for more than a week, with an impromptu boycott of Italian goods and services. BA-san/mec ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 12:55:53 PST From: C-afp at clari.net (AFP) Subject: Ankara softens line against Rome over Kurd rebel, but boycott deepens Message-ID: ANKARA, Nov 24 (AFP) - Turkey on Tuesday dropped its insistence that Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan be extradited from Italy, but hopes that Germany might intervene to end the growing row faded. Ankara holds Ocalan responsible for more than 30,000 deaths since 1984 as leader of the Kurdish rebellion in south-eastern Turkey. The bilateral legal row has spilled out into politics, trade, football and even pizzas. Turkish demonstrators burnt jerseys of Italy's national soccer team in front of the Italian embassy here Tuesday in protest against the postponement of a match between a Turkish and an Italian team. About a hundred protesters demanding that Italy extradite Ocalan also kicked soccer balls against the closed gates of the embassy and chanted slogans like "Leave Apo to us" and "Traitor Italy". The European soccer federation UEFA decided on Monday to postpone the European Champions League tie between Galatasaray Istanbul and Juventus Turin over the Ocalan row. Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz accused UEFA of mixing sports and politics. Meanwhile a boycott of Italian goods snowballed in Turkey Tuesday, as Italy continued to refuse to extradite the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader. However an official of the Turkish-Italian business council warned that the growing boycott, launched at grassroots level, may end up hurting economies in both countries. "The boycott issue is a very sensitive one and could prove harmful to both countries," Vahit Erdem, co-chairman of the council, told AFP. Another business association focusing on trade with Italy took a less pessimistic view of the current tide of public feeling. "The boycott movement is an emotional reaction from the man in the street," said Claudio Petrini, general manager of the Turkish-Italian Commerce Association in Istanbul. "But much of the Italian imports are aimed at a market segment well above those who are burning Gucci ties outside the Italian consulates and refusing to eat pizza," he said. In a bid to end the dispute, without the need for a climbdown from either side, both Italy and Turkey had begun to talk of German involvement in seeking a solution. Ocalan was arrested in Italy on November 12 by police acting on international warrants from both Germany and Turkey. However hopes of a German solution fell sharply Tuesday when Turkish Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu said after a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Hertha Daeubler-Gmelin, that Bonn wanted the matter resolved between Ankara and Rome. Germany had no plans to become involved, Denizkurdu's written statement said. In Bonn, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called for calm. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Italian President Massimo D'Alema will discuss the problem in Bonn on Friday, he said. Ocalan, in an interview given to a Moscow daily, said Tuesday that Russia had refused him political exile because of intense US and Turkish diplomatic pressure. His claim apparently contradicted public statements by senior Russian officials that Ocalan had never been on Russian territory. "The Americans put Russia under great pressure," Ocalan was quoted as saying. "Turkey offered financial aid and lucrative contracts and promised to intervene positively in (the breakaway Russian republic of) Chechnya," he told the paper. Back in Turkey's troubled southeast, where the rebels' battle for Kurdish independece is still being waged, regional officials said that the Turkish army had killed 20 members of the PKK in fresh fighting. The prefecture of the southern town of Diyarbakir said three Turkish soldiers were also killed in the latest clashes. The new figures raises the number of PKK guerrillas killed in the latest fighting to 43. The Turkish army last Friday launched a major operation involving around 30,000 troops in the eastern province of Tunceli, to flush out an estimated 500 PKK rebels from positions in the mountains. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 13:35:57 PST From: C-afp at clari.net (AFP) Subject: No official boycott of Italian goods,says Ankara Message-ID: ANKARA, Nov 24 (AFP) - The Turkish Government has not imposed an official boycott on Italian products despite the continuing row over Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, a spokesman said Tuesday. "We have not decided on an official boycott of Italian products ... We have no responsibility for the Turkish private sector's reaction towards Italian products," spokesman Sukru Sina Gurel said here. He was responding to a warning by EU Commission President Jacques Santer on Tuesday that Brussels could impose economic sanctions if the Turkish government, or publicly-owned companies, boycott Italian companies because of Rome's refusal to extradite the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "If such a boycott were officially decided, which I hope will not happen, it would be important to organise consultations immediately," Santer said. If these did not produce a satisfactory result the EU "could then decide on retaliatory measures," Santer said in Brussels. After meeting Italian Premier Massimo d'Alema here, Santer said a boycott would be a "clear violation" both of the 1963 EU-Turkey Association Agreement and the customs union between them that was introduced in 1996. Turkey maintains that Ocalan, currently detained in a secret location in Rome, is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths in the PKK's 14-year armed campaign for a Kurdish homeland. "Turkey is conscious of its obligations," Gurel said. Meanwhile Turkey announced Tuesday it was extending for four months from November 30 a state of emergency in six provinces in the east and southeast of the country where PKK rebels are concentrated. ------------------------------ End of forwarda10936 Digest *************************** List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 24 17:45:39 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Nov 1998 17:45:39 Subject: Turkish-Italian businessmen ponder effects of boycott Message-ID: ISTANBUL, Nov 24 (AFP) - The boycott of Italian products in Turkey, launched at grassroots level to protest Rome's reluctance to extradite Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, may end up hurting economies in both countries, an official of the Turkish-Italian business council warned Tuesday. "The boycott issue is a very sensitive one and could prove harmful to both countries," Vahit Erdem, co-chairman of the council, told AFP. "Italian companies working with Turkey are very worried about the consequences such a boycott might have for commercial ties," he said. The boycott of Italian goods has been snowballing in Turkey over the past few days, as Italy continues to refuse extradition of the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), arrested in Rome earlier this month. Erdem said he had written to his Italian counterpart in the business council, requesting an emergency meeting in Turkey. "I hope the Italian government will soon realize how serious the situation is", he added. But another business association focusing on trade with Italy took a less pessimistic view of the current tide of public feeling. "The boycott movement is an emotional reaction from the man in the street," Claudio Petrini, general manager of the Turkish-Italian Commerce Association in Istanbul, said. "But much of the Italian imports are aimed at a market segment well above those who are burning Gucci ties outside the Italian consulates and refusing to eat pizza," he said. "It's really too early to see where this is going. But it's more a question of threats than of actual economic impact for now", he said. Member companies of his association, 98 percent of which are Turkish, have taken no drastic measures so far, he said. "At worst, they have put an order on hold for a couple of days to await developments." Petrini said he expected the worst of the crisis to blow over in coming days, as public opinion in Italy seemed to be turning against asylum for Ocalan and the Italian government was already exploring alternatives. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Tue Nov 24 17:47:35 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 24 Nov 1998 17:47:35 Subject: Louisiana Panther on Trial/Urgent Action Needed Message-ID: From: "Greg Butterfield" (by way of Editions Democrite ) Subject: Louisiana Panther on Trial/Urgent Action Needed Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" POLITICAL PRISONER ON TRIAL -- PLEASE READ AND DISSEMINATE WIDELY Former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, who has spent over 20 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana, is scheduled to be retried Dec. 7 for the 1972 killing of a white prison guard. Woodfox has always maintained that he is innocent of the killing. Woodfox was convicted, along with fellow Panther Herman "Hooks" Wallace, in 1973. Both were given life sentences and sent directly to solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Woodfox won a reversal of his conviction in 1992, and has since been incarcerated at a local jail, awaiting trial. Wallace remains in an isolation cell at Angola, his conviction intact. Woodfox and Wallace helped found the Angola chapter of the Black Panther Party. Just as the police apparatus did everywhere else in America in the 1960s and 1970s, the authorities in Louisiana unleashed brutal repression to prevent African-Americans from organizing themselves. In Louisiana prisons and jails, authorities maced, beat, shot, isolated, and framed activist prisoners. One revolutionary prisoner charged in the 1972 guard killing, Gilbert Montegut, was acquitted at the original trial. Even Angola's warden admitted that Montegut had been framed. Because the prosecution has very little evidence against Woodfox, THEY INTEND TO PUT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY ON TRIAL. The Assistant Attorney General has said, "I think this was a racially-motivated Black Panther murder." She intends to introduce evidence that Woodfox once spelled "America" as "AMERIKKKA" in order to inflame the jury. She plans to tell the jury that political statements Woodfox once made against "fascism" and "pigs" constitute evidence that he committed murder. Woodfox and Wallace are still struggling to win their freedom, and THEY NEED YOUR HELP. There is not enough room here to include all of the unbelievable facts of this case. Two websites have been set up to provide more information. Visit www.prisons.org and www.prisonactivist.org. Over the next few days, we will be posting a detailed history of the ANGOLA 2 case, articles about the case taken from the original Black Panther Party newspaper, and information about what you can do to help the ANGOLA 2. ALBERT WOODFOX IS THE FIRST POLITICAL PRISONER IN RECENT MEMORY TO HAVE WON A NEW TRIAL. WE HAVE A CHANCE TO BRING ALBERT HOME BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BUT WE NEED TO BUILD POLITICAL SUPPORT BEFORE THE DEC. 7 TRIAL. Please take a moment to contact the prosecutor and the judge. Tell them you are outraged that they intend to try this man on the basis of his political affiliations. Let them know that the world is watching, and we will not tolerate the lynch-mob atmosphere surrounding this trial. Write or call them at the following addresses: Assistant Attorney General Julie Cullen Louisiana Department of Justice Criminal Division P.O. Box 94095 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095 telephone: (225) 342-7013 fax: (225) 342-8703 Hon. Bruce C. Bennett Tangipahoa Parish Courthouse Building Amite, LA 70422 telephone: (504) 748-9445 WOODFOX ALSO NEEDS MONEY. Funds are needed to bring witnesses from around the country. The judge recently denied funds for Albert to hire a jury consultant. His supporters are paying for what they can out of their own pockets. Please help out if you can. Make checks payable to IT'S ABOUT TIME, and write "Albert Woodfox Defense" on the check. Mail to: IT'S ABOUT TIME P.O. Box 221100 Sacramento, CA 95822 You can also write letters to the ANGOLA 2. Including some stamps is always helpful to them. Albert Woodfox (B-1) P.O. Box 250 Amite, LA 70422 Herman Wallace #76759 Louisiana State Penitentiary Main Prison Ex-L/D U-3-R #204 Angola, LA 70712 PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO EVERY PERSON AND MAILING LIST YOU KNOW OF. PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO HELP THIS BROTHER COME HOME. +-+ sent by the Prison Activist List +-+ A project of the Prison Activist Resource Center. See the Prison Issues Desk at . To unsubscribe, send email to with this text in the body: unsubscribe prisonact-list In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. erest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl From K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org Tue Nov 24 23:58:00 1998 From: K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org (K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org) Date: 24 Nov 1998 23:58:00 Subject: Fuer eine politische Loesung Message-ID: <75Z5TUHr$RB@walker.link-do.soli_> Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit ## Nachricht vom 22.11.98 weitergeleitet ## Ursprung : SOZ at LINK-LEV.dinoco.de ## Ersteller: K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.soli.de PKK ?ndert politischen Kurs Friedensverhandlungen jetzt herbeif?hren "?calan ist in Italien" verk?ndete die Schlagzeile der prokurdischen Tageszeitung ?zg?r Politika schon am Morgen des 29. Oktober - gut zwei Wochen zu fr?h. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt weilte der Vorsitzende der Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans noch in Ru?land, wo sich die Abgeordneten der Duma um Asyl f?r ihn bem?hten. Als ?calan schlie?lich am Abend des 12. November tats?chlich in Rom eintraf, schlug die Nachricht von seiner vermeindlichen Verhaftung wie eine Bombe ein. Doch was der Welt?ffentlichkeit als das unerwartete Auftauchen eines gescheiterten, sich auf der verzweifelten Flucht nach vorne befindenden Guerilla-Anf?hrers erschien, ist in Wirklichkeit der vorl?ufige H?hepunkt einer von langer Hand vorbereiteten diplomatischen Offensive der PKK. Nicht nur in ihren internen Publikationen diskutiert die PKK seit mehr als einem Jahr offen, da? ein Sieg ?ber die t?rkische Unterdr?ckung nicht allein auf milit?rischem Wege zu erringen sei. Nach 15 Jahren Krieg ist die kurdische Bev?lkerung ausgezehrt. Das t?rkische Milit?r hat weite Strecken des Landes in einen verbrannten und verminten Friedhof verwandelt. Unz?hlige Familien haben ein oder mehrere Angeh?rige verloren, und wer ?berlebt hat, befindet sich heute auf der Flucht, im Gef?ngnis oder in den Bergen bei der Guerilla. Anders, als die t?rkischen Medien Glauben machen wollen, steht die PKK dennoch keineswegs vor der milit?rischen Niederlage. Aber die F?hrungsebene der Partei hat erkannt, da? ein Krieg, der zwar weiterhin f?hrbar w?re, deswegen noch lange nicht gewonnen werden kann. Erst recht nicht, wenn seine unn?tige Verl?ngerung weiter auf dem R?cken einer Bev?lkerung ausgetragen werden mu?, zu deren Befreiung er eigentlich einmal begonnen wurde. Daher betont die PKK seit geraumer Zeit immer wieder ihre Bereitschaft, einer politischen L?sung den Vorzug zu geben. Dreimal hat sie einseitig einen Waffenstillstand verk?ndet, zweimal scheiterte dieser in erster Linie an der Uneinsichtigkeit der t?rkischen Armeef?hrung. Seit dem 1. September gilt der dritte einseitig ausgerufene Waffenstillstand, und diesmal scheint es, da? sich die kurdische Guerilla nicht mit einem schleichenden Scheitern abfinden, sondern die politische L?sung mit Hilfe einer diplomatischen Offensive erzwingen will. W?hrend der letzten Jahre hat die kurdische Befreiungsbewegung in m?hsamer Kleinarbeit das Netz ihrer internationalen Kontakte erweitert. Von Madrid bis Moskau, von Helsinki bis nach Athen ist es gelungen, Beziehungen auszubauen und einflu?reiche Verb?ndete auf dem Weg zu einer politischen L?sung der kurdischen Frage zu finden. Doch obgleich die Forderung nach einer Beilegung des Konfliktes immer h?ufiger auch aus den Regierungsparteien verschiedener europ?ischer Staaten, bis hin zum Europaparlament erhoben wird, setzt die t?rkische Seite mit unverminderter H?rte auf die milit?rische Karte. Dies f?llt umso leichter, als die europ?ischen Forderungen bisher auf der Ebene verbaler Bekundungen verblieben sind. Als Milit?r und Regierung der T?rkei am 30. September ein weiteres Mal zum sogenannten endg?ltigen Schlag gegen die PKK ausholten, mit einem Gro?aufgebiet die Grenze zum Irak ?berschritten und Syrien mit einem Milit?rschlag drohten, ging die PKK in die diplomatische Offensive. Obgleich die t?rkische Agression gegen Damaskus ins Leere zu laufen drohte, da die von der T?rkei erhoffte Unterst?tzung der beiden Hauptverb?ndeten Israel und USA ausblieb, die in den Tagen des Why Plantation Abkommens alles andere als eine Syrienkrise brauchen konnten; obwohl die Verhandlungen um eine Entsch?rfung des Konfliktes noch in vollem Gange waren; und trotz der Tatsache, da? die Bedrohung zu keinem Zeitpunkt ein Ausma? erreicht hatte, das eine unbedingte Flucht ?calans aus Damaskus erfordert h?tte, verlie? der PKK Vorsitzende zwei Wochen nach Ausbruch der Krise Syrien und machte sich auf den Weg nach Europa. Dort liefen die Verhandlungen um eine etwaige Aufnahme des PKK-Chefs bereits auf Hochtouren. In Ru?land, der ersten Etappe ?calans, konnte man sich der breiten Unterst?tzung der Duma sicher sein. Diese forderte die russische Regierung mit einer Mehrheit von 298 Stimmen auf, dem kurdischen Anf?hrer einen politischen Aufenthaltsstatus zu gew?hren, scheiterte jedoch an der Weigerung Primakovs. Gleichwohl wurden sicherheitshalber ebenfalls in Italien und anderen europ?ischen L?ndern l?ngst Aufnahmeverhandlungen gef?hrt. Dies war auch der T?rkei bekannt. Bereits kurze Zeit nach ?calans Abreise aus Syrien, war sie vom italienischen Au?enministerium brieflich ?ber dessen m?gliches Auftauchen dort informiert worden - verschiedene Abgeordnete luden ihn offiziell nach Italien ein. Schon Ende September hatte eine Sitzung des kurdischen Exilparlamentes im r?mischen Parlamentsgeb?ude die Standhaftigkeit der Regierung gegen?ber heftigsten Drohungen aus Ankara auf die Probe gestellt. Die Romreise des Europasprechers der ERNK, Kani Yilmaz, mu? Anfang November schlie?lich die letzten Zweifel beseitigt haben. Italien wurde - nach der Weigerung der russischen Regierung - als Zielland f?r die diplomatische Offensive ausgew?hlt. Am 12. November traf ?calan in Rom ein und beantragte,einen politischen Status in Italien zuerkannt zu bekommen. W?hrend die T?rkei Italien mit Drohungen ?bersch?ttet, bombardiert die t?rkische Luftwaffe die kurdische Region Dersim. Im ganzen Land finden Massenverhaftungen statt. ?ber 700 Menschen, vorwiegend Mitglieder der Partei HADEP wurden in den vergangenen Tagen festgenommen. Aufgehetzt von Regierung und Medien begehen t?rkische Faschisten Lynchjustiz in den Stra?en. Im Gef?ngnis nahmen Anh?nger der Grauen W?lfe einen italienischen Mith?ftling als Geisel und folterten ihn schwer. Mit seiner Pr?senz in Europa wirft der PKK-Vorsitzende die Frage internationalen Handelns im Kurdistankonflikt neu auf. Seine Rolle als Feldherr, der von Syrien aus die Guerilla in den kurdischen Bergen befehligt, geh?rt nunmehr der Vergangenheit an. Jetzt liegt es in den H?nden der Regierungen Europas ?calans Rolle f?r die Zukunft aktiv mitzugestalten. Wer an einer friedlichen Beilegung des Krieges aufrichtig interessiert ist, mu? die durch die diplomatische Offensive der kurdischen Seite entstandene Dynamik nutzen und nunmehr auch von der T?rkei ein deutliches Signal f?r die Aufnahme von Friedensgespr?chen fordern. Die Regierungen Italiens und auch Deutschlands haben sich bereits in diesem Sinne ge?uert. Nun gilt es, die Initiative zu ergreifen und parallel Delegationen zu ?calan und in die T?rkei zu entsenden. Diese m?ssen im Gespr?ch mit dem PKK-Vorsitzenden dessen Bereitschaft zu einem ernsthaften Friedensdialog auszuloten und in Ankara das erhebliche Gewicht der deutsch-t?rkischen Beziehungen zur Initialisierung eines Friedensdialogs in die Waagschale werfen. Und noch immer wartet die bereits vielfach geforderte internationale Konferenz "Frieden in Kurdistan - Demokratie in der T?rkei" auf ihre Realisierung. Knut Rauchfuss ## CrossPoint v3.1 ## From K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org Wed Nov 25 00:07:00 1998 From: K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org (K.RAUCHFUSS at LINK-DO.comlink.apc.org) Date: 25 Nov 1998 00:07:00 Subject: Demonstration am 27.11.98 Message-ID: <75Z5ppYr$RB@walker.link-do.soli_> Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Gro?demonstration fuer eine politische Loesung, fuer Frieden und Freiheit in Kurdistan 27.11.98 Bonn Beginn 12.00 Uhr Auftakt: P?tzenmarkt und am Zimmetwehrpark Kundgebung: 14.30 Uhr am Wasserwerk (Regierungsviertel) ## CrossPoint v3.1 ## From ozgurluk at xs4all.nl Sat Nov 28 10:30:36 1998 From: ozgurluk at xs4all.nl (ozgurluk at xs4all.nl) Date: 28 Nov 1998 10:30:36 Subject: Turkey: POW's report Message-ID: THE DHKP-C prisoners recorded the attacks and the resistance of recent months in several prisoners in Turkey on paper. ANKARA prison: When the news about the attacks the revolutionary prisoners in the Ceyhan prison and the following events reached us, several organizations in the Closed Central Prison of Ankara held a day of actions, like refusing the prisoners count, occupation of the air shaft and the corridor, and pressure was applied to get information about the situation of the prisoners who had been injured in the attack in the Ceyhan prison. It was decided to evaluate new developments. No information could be received from the prison administration, despite the actions. A majority agreed to a decision, made the next day, October 21, after the evaluation. The action, in which the organizations of the DHKP-C, EKIM, TKP(ML), TIKB, DY, TKP/ML, MLKP and TDP participated, was continued with fires in the corridor, string dancing (Halay) and shouting slogans, expressing our determination ("We will break the hand which is held up against the prisoners in Ceyhan", "The attacks and transfers cannot break us") On October 23, 1998, in connection with the attack against the prisoners in the CANKIRI prison, a proposal of the DHKP-C prisoners to take hostages was discussed in the council. The prisoners of the TKP(ML) and the TKP/ML participated. The girders the guards carried with them constantly, showed they were prepared for such a development. The chief guard Mehmet ORHAN was injured as a result of his aggressive conduct when the prisoners tried to intern him. Some senior guards and prison orderlies became abusive and gave the order to attack. After our medical attendant examined the wounds of the injured guard, he was handed over to the prison administration for treatment. At that moment, we were bombarded with stones and tiles which had been stored in the watchtowers. Shots were fired in the air, at the crowd, and at the team that brought the hostages back. The soldiers held their fire temporarily when they received the warning "We are bringing the hostages, don't shoot", but they kept firing at the prisoners who didn't have any hostages with them. A social prisoner, who was in his cell, was wounded at his hand. These attacks could be overcome with only minor grazes. After consultations between lawyers, a representative from the department and representatives of the Central Prison Co-ordination (CMK, founded during the hungerstrike till death of 1996, representing several organizations), which ended with the written promise to concede to the demands of the prisoners, the hostages were released and the prison count was acceded to. BARTIN prison: After we heard of the attack, in the night of October 19, against the prisoners in the CEYHAN prison, we demanded from the prison administration to make inquiries by telephone for more details. It was reported that there had been attacks and that people had been wounded, and that the situation had normalized again. The next morning we talked with the other political prisoners and we agreed with the HDOE prisoners on our proposals to refuse the count and yelling slogans. The TKP/ML and the RIZGARI prisoners only agreed to the slogans. The PKK declared it would not participate. But when the attacks went beyond CEYHAN, and a new wave of attacks started in BERGAMA, we, including the HDOE, started our action again to refuse the count. From the day we refused the count, the prison administration only admitted the personal to count the PKK and the social prisoners and to lock the doors to the yard. Then they were called back to the administration building. On the evening of October 23, 1998, we heard from attacks against the CANKIRI prison. We had been patient till then. But now it had become necessary to oppose these attacks more clearly. The enemy knew before us that their had been hostage taking in other prisons. While some personal was dragged to the administration buildings, as an exhibit, a barricade was being constructed there. Our proposal, which we came up with during these events, to occupy the corridor was only accepted by the HDOE prisoners. Thus began the occupation action and the non-closure of the doors to the yard. The administration personal left the prison and withdrew into the administration building. Even the count of the PKK and social prisoners was canceled. As a result from the negotiation between a representative from the department, a delegation of lawyers and representatives from the Central Prison Co-ordination on October 24, 1998, the meeting of our demands was confirmed in writing and the action was ended. CANKIRI prison: When we watched the television news on October 19, 1998, we heard that a tunnel had been found in the Bayrampasa prison and that an attack had occurred in the Ceyhan prison. As a first step, we prevented the closure of the doors to the dining room and the dorm which usually occurs around 3.15 a.m. The next morning we continued our action with the refusal of the count. And at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the slogan "We will break the hand which is held up against the prisoners, revolutionary prisoners cannot be broken", yelled in the corridor, resounded through the prison. The DHKP-C and the EKIM prisoners participated in this action. While this kind of action continued, they wanted to conduct a search on October 23, at 9 a.m. We declared that we would refuse to be searched. Later, the director called upon our representative and said that "there won't be a count, just a search". Our representative stated once more that no search would be allowed before there was any news from prisoners in Ceyhan. The state prosecutor, we participated in the talks, declared in a threatening tone "What are you trying to convince him, tell the chief prosecutor to initiate the necessary". The representative of the prisoners, not impressed, left the talks. Half an hour later, the director came to the door of the cell and said that our friends in the Ceyhan prison were in isolation, that cell doors had been broken open, but that the prisoners were now in communal cells again after the doors had been repaired and the tunnel that had been discovered was shut down. He also said that the prisoners were in good health. After this talk, the prison guards were withdrawn from the corridor immediately and it was clear that an attack was being prepared. We told the social prisoners, who had indicated their willingness to participate in the action: "You'll know from our slogans when the attack begins. Break open your cell doors then and take part in the action". We addressed the PKK prisoners with the words: "It's clear now, an attack will occur, what will be your attitude?" While the PKK kept their silence to us, one of their representatives went into the cells of the social prisoners and with the words "this is not our problem, and it isn't yours. It's a DHKP-C problem, do not take part in the action", he tried to withhold them from the action. The social prisoner then came to us and said: "They try to leave you on your own, do something". When we went into the communal cells of the social prisoners, we said: "We are here with 49 people as Party-Front prisoners. And 2 prisoners from EKIM are taking part in the action as well. Even if we die in the end, we will emerge as the winners. We trust our own strength and we will fight. We regard you as our friends. Whether you take part or not, that's your decision". Some ten minutes after this talk, one by one the answers came from the cells of the social prisoners: "We've come to a joint decision, when there is an attack, we will be on your side, we will participate in the resistance. If you want, we can break open the doors now and go into the corridor, if you want we can take the prison guards hostage as well". The director showed up again. He emphasized that a search was necessary. Our stand was clear, EXPLAIN THIS WITH CEYHAN. We saw that soldiers, policemen and a fire-engine were lined up outside. Around 2.30 p.m., chief prosecutor Ethem TUERKER came. He said that the search would be carried out one way or the other. And we discussed Ceyhan. Tuerker said after a brief discussion: "What will be your last word?" "Clear up the business in Ceyhan!..." "Well, you know it", he said and went to the director and ordered the preparations. It was now evident that they were going to attack. We immediately went into the corridor and erected a barricade in front of the bars. It was not quite finished when some 50 prison guards and 20 soldiers entered, together with the directors and the chief prosecutor. The electricity was cut off and they came before the barricade. We prepared the beds and shanks. Then we started to yell: "Human dignity will defeat torture", "Down with fascism, long live our struggle". And we sang our march: "Come if you have the courage"... The director tried to silence us and our representative cried out even louder. They wanted "negotiations", protected by guards and soldiers. We rejected this. The demand was clear: CEYHAN. We heard how the social prisoners in the upper floor tried to break open the cell doors with force. At that same moment, some 30 soldiers, armed with girders, sticks and tear gas came through the back entrance. We divided our forces and went in both directions. When the soldiers were very near to us, they lined up and began to beat their sticks on the girders. They practically engaged in psychological warfare. We hit the floor with girders and iron bars as well. With an even louder voice, we yelled: "Down with fascism, long live our struggle". The soldiers were amazed and they tried to intimidate us and the social prisoners by breaking the windows in the corridor. The PKK member yelled, `close our doors', but nobody reacted... The soldiers freaked because of some Molotov-cocktails we threw. The soldiers in the front row, with the girders, took back a step. At that moment came the order "Attack, throw them out of the corridor" and we went into the attack position, yelling "Down with fascism, long live our struggle". The soldiers, who had launched a counterattack, panicked and started to run away. They stopped near the kitchen and constructed a barricade with their girders. After we threw a Molotov-cocktail, the social prisoners started to hurl stones on the soldiers from the windows. While we went there as well, we were hit by some of their stones. When we yelled at them that they should stop throwing stones, one social prisoner replied: "What do I know, brother, not ten seconds ago there were soldiers there, how quickly they ran". We could hear steps on the upper floor and thought it were soldiers. The doors from the cells to the upper floor were all right, we had barricades and enough people. While we were thinking it were soldiers, a confrontation occurred on the upper floor between the social prisoners and the soldiers who had to retreat there as well. This situation came as a sudden surprise to the soldiers, they had been pushed back there as well. Later we heard that the soldiers had entered the upper and the lower floor at the same time. Above the officer had said: "No mercy, beat the vermin on their heads". There were Robocops as well as soldiers. The social prisoners broke open their doors and pushed back the soldiers with sticks and the slogans "Human dignity will defeat torture", "We are the people, we are right and we will win". Pushed in a corner here as well, the soldiers ran after throwing a tear gas grenade. Thus the corridor in the upper floor came under the control of the social prisoners. The words later of the regiment commander to the social prisoner, "We didn't expect you to participate in the actions, we expected you to support us", essentially betrayed the plan; while we were being diverted in the corridor, soldiers were to come simultaneously from the back and the top. But this plan could not be realized. After we closed the doors of the lower corridor, we gathered with the social prisoners. After the director saw their was no chance of success, he proposed a meeting. We declared we would agree to that after the soldiers would be withdrawn and the operation was ended. We told him to come to the cell for talks. Because he didn't dare so, we gave our word that he wouldn't come to any harm. We told him their were soldiers on the roof and he said they would be withdrawn. Just two minutes later, two tear gas grenades were thrown from the same roof. The director panicked. He began to yell for the petty officer, but the grenades had affected him as well. We said their intentions were clear, that there was nothing more to talk about and then sent him away. There was no further confrontation after that. We connected the upper and the lower floor. There were 15-10 guards behind the bars. We called the chief guard and said: "We do not want to harm you. We will tear away the bars and go under them, withdraw yourselves". Thereupon the chief guard: "There's no problem with us, we will not attack you. Don't get us wrong. Okay, we will go outside then." We broke away the bars and erected a large barricade on the other side. We put on the DHKP flag and two banners and started waiting. Around 10 p.m., a conversation occurred between a social prisoner, on guard next to the block, and a petty officer on the watchtower. The petty officer: "Damned, where have they found you, this wasn't expected." The social prisoner replied: "What do you mean, aren't we condemned too? You attack our friends and you expect us to remain calm?" The petty officer: "I lost my watch during the clash. I got it from a friend who was murdered in the East. I'll break in at 12 with my gun to get it back." With the words "you do whatever you like, you'll see what it will get you", the social prisoner pointed his stick to the petty officer. We heard that there had been hostage taking and corridor occupations in several prisons because of the attacks against us. The demands were identical: - The attacks against the prisoners in Cankiri and Bergama must be ended. - The demands of the prisoners in Ceyhan must be fulfilled. We told the director, who constantly came to us, that he would have to talk with the Central Prison Co-ordination, not us. He told us their would be a IHD-delegation, that there wouldn't be an attack and that a doctor could be send, if needed. At 10.30 p.m., the delegation entered. We explained the situation and made our demands known. They talked with the state prosecutor and said we had to wait for a fax message. This arrived in the early hours of the morning. We read this message to the several groups that had been formed at strategic points of the prison and the action was ended with the words "Long live the resistance, long live victory". BUCA prison: After we heard from the attacks against the Ceyhan prison, we told the other leftists our demand and action proposals. Because we knew that we would have to act quickly with these kind of attacks. An agreement was reached with all the organizations present, the TKP(ML), MLKP, PKK, TKP-ML, TDKP, KPIOE and TKP-ML-allies on actions like refusing the general search and count, and keeping the doors to the yard open. We named our only demand: the friends in the Ceyhan prison must be released from their isolation cells. The same night we started with refusing the search. The first day of action, the locks of the cell doors 3 and 4 to the yard were broken open. When we heard of the occupation of the corridor and the attacks in Bergama on the second day, our representative had a meeting with the prison directions, also in the name of the other organizations. While we repeatedly told them we were waiting for a fax message from our friends in Bergama, we announced we would move over to action in case there would be an attack in Bergama. The same day, all the representatives of the prisoners had a meeting with the state prosecutor. We repeated our demand. That night, some of the murderers who had been used during the massacre of September 21 (note: that day in 1995, 4 prisoners in Buca were brutally murdered during an attack) were brought to the corridor. >From the third day, the administration tried to rob us from our rights. When we heard about the attack in the Cankiri prison, we agreed with the TIKB and the TKP-ML to occupy the corridor. There was an attack during the attempt to break open the second door. Immediately after that, they wanted to carry out an operation in cell 3. That's why we set fire to the cell. Water was hosed into the cell from high-pressure hoses. They tried to force entry but failed because of the barricade. There was a brief confrontation in cell 4, where fire was set as well. Till the end of the action, the enemy continued its psychological attacks in several variations. Around 2 p.m. we received the fax message from the Central Prison Co-ordination. MALATYA prison: We heard from the attacks against our friends in the Ceyhan prison and started actions the following day, demanding that they would be released from the isolation cells. The first day, the prisoners' count was refused and slogans were yelled. The TKP(ML), TKP-ML, MLKP and DHKP-C participated. However, the following day all organizations, except ours broke off the action. We continued till the end. It was decided that the doors to the yard remained open, which was then the case for the women cell of the DHKP-C. Besides discussions between the female prisoners and the guards and some threats from the side of the employees, nothing happened. One was awaiting the arrival of the fax message from the Central Prison Co-ordination that the action was ended. Because the administration refused to pass this message through, the action continued. Later the message arrived and the resistance was ended. The winners were, as always, we, the "free prisoners". BERGAMA prison: After the news arrived that our comrades in the Ceyhan prison had been attacked, we immediately told all our friends of the other organizations of our decision. While the TKP(ML) agreed immediately, the TKP-ML, TIKB and MLKP said they had to think it over first. In the mean time we deliberated on how we could realize the planned occupation of the corridor. When the others agreed as well, we started the action. We took the guards, arriving for their duty between 7 and 8 p.m., into our cells (in total 9 persons). We quickly set up an action committee and divided the tasks. We organized a commune in our cell and decided on an orderly functioning. After we had occupied the entire block, including the administration building, and had it under control, we informed the other left which did not participate, the PKK and the social prisoners about the situation in general. We asked them for their opinion and all of them declared they would stay on their places. The chief prosecutor arrived at 5 in the morning and inquired into the reason for our action. After he received our answer, he went, uttering his threat. In the afternoon, the chief prosecutor came along once again and he threatened to carry out the orders from the general directorate in case we wouldn't withdraw. Once again we insisted that the problem in Ceyhan had to be solved first before we would withdraw. The dialogue broke off shortly after. In the meantime, troops were gathering in the area. The lawyers which arrived at midnight, Metin Narin and Ercan Demir, informed themselves on the situation. The next morning, the enemy started several acts of pestering while increasing their troops and declaring that an operation was inevitable. They tried to drill through the walls of the neighboring blocks. We resisted with the words "This is our last warning, otherwise we will blow up the prison with propane cylinders, in no case will we withdraw". Metin Narin and Betuel Duran, arriving for a second time during the afternoon, started a new dialogue. Besides our general demands, we also demanded that the troops should be withdrawn completely, that there should be no attempt to rob us from our rights and that we would be able to continue the action in the corridors after returning to our cells voluntarily. After they accepted these demands and withdrew the troops, we returned to our cells and continued our action with the general demands. Independent from the news of the attack in Cankiri, we decided to act again. We put our proposal to the others from the left but they said they would await the decision of the Central Prison Co-ordination. We remembered them about the stand of the Co-ordination and that we had to act quickly. On October 27, at 5 p.m., we went into the corridor and took the chief guards and the others into our cells. After a quick search they were split up in two groups and guarded by 5 people each. To give our other units an entrance, at the back as well as at the front entrance of the main corridor, a communicating door was forced open, barricades were set up at key positions, and the entire lower level, including the administration, was occupied. Even though the friends of the other organizations did not participate at that moment, they helped in many ways. At 6 p.m., the TIKB, MLKP. TKP(ML) and TKP-ML joined the action. Three readers of Kaldirac (a magazine) participated as well as a rear-front. Just 15 minutes later, the enemy launched it attack against the barricade at the rear entrance. They tried to break trough by using high-pressure hoses and other means. When they remained unsuccessful, they fired some 30 bullets at random from 3 pistols in order to intimidate us and to see how we would react. Despite the probability that they would shoot at us, we attacked and reinforced the barricade with several items. This attacked continued for two hours, without interruption. The enemy withdrew as they remained unsuccessful. Immediately after, they opened the cell doors in the A-blocks where the civic fascist are , the doors to the main corridor we had occupied. They armed them with iron bars, sticks, et cetera, and let them loose against us. This attack lasted for one hour and we were able to push them back. Because success failed to materialize, they were forced to enter a dialogue. The state prosecutor arrived. All we had to say to him was: "When this attack isn't sufficient, come with your bombs and all your heavy weapons. Like you did in Buca and UEmraniye. When you don't come, your without honor. We are here and wait for you." The attack from both sides had been beaten back but some pestering continued. Around 1 a.m., a delegation of four lawyers arrived at the prison. We reported briefly on the events and declared we would give the enemy one hour to withdraw from the upper and the rear block, to withdraw from Cankiri, to clear up the case in the Ceyhan prison, and to withdraw the civic fascist immediately. Otherwise we would blow up the prison, using the propane cylinders. One hour later, the enemy withdrew all its forces from the upper corridor and the civic fascist as well. Both sides started waiting. After the fax arrived the next morning and the enemy agreed to all our conditions, withdrawing all its forces from the prison and the area and keeping the old status after the action, not carrying out searches and allowing the visits from our relatives, we ended our action. CANAKKALE prison: In the night of October 20 actions were started like not allowing the general evening search, keeping open the communicating doors and refusing the count of the prisoners. Besides ourselves, the TKEP-:L, TKP(ML), DY, TKP(ML)-B, TKP-ML, TIKB, MLKP and TDKP took part in the action. On October 23 we heard from the attack in the Cankiri prison. We then decided to take hostages. We addressed the other organizations and asked for a quick answer for we could not wait too long and we said that we for our part would carry out the action anyway. Given the decision of the Central Prison Co-ordination, there were no problems and it didn't take long. The TDKP prisoners did not participate but they declared: "If the area where you set up your barricade happens to include our cells, open our doors. We will join de facto but officially we will not take part." We started the action, took 9 guards hostage and brought them into our cell. We then set up our barricades. We organized a central committee for the action (we, TKEP-L, DY and TIKB). Among its tasks was to keep guard. We explained the goal of our action to the guards and asked them to stay calm. In the course of the action, the enemy not once tried to communicate. There was no dialogue. At 1 o'clock at night, chief prosecutor Cemal Sahir Guercay arrived together with a group in civilian clothing. They were in a part where we could see them and they apparently discussed architecture and several plans. But there were no preparations for an attack. After we received a confirmation the next morning by fax and telephone, we ended the action. We told the administration: "You will allow all our relatives outside in, without the state prosecutor making problems about permissions. Furthermore, there will be no search, et cetera. You will carry out a search when the normal time for it has come." All the relatives were let in. In the end we won again, proud of being worthy to our Idil... UEMRANIYE prison: In the days we still felt anger for the fact that the freedom actions of our comrades were discovered, first in Ceyhan and then Sagmalcilar (tunnels), we heard that the enemy had launched an attack against Ceyhan. Television did not report in detail about it but wounded people were being reported. It was emphasized in a demagogic manner that the wounded had been prison guards. Obviously, the revolutionaries, being attacked, had resisted, but it was also evident that the wounded had been our comrades. We met with the other organizations and it was decided to start with refusing the count and the evening search. This action was started in the night of October 20 with the participation of prisoners from the DHKP-C, TKP-ML, TIKB, TKP(ML), TKEP-L, MLKP, MLSPB, TDP, HKG, TKP-Kivilcim and the TDKP. Because we did not receive a real answer from the administration regarding information about Ceyhan, despite repeated insistence, we told them we were going to get them if the attacks against our friends in Ceyhan wouldn't stop. While we continued our protest against the attacks in Ceyhan we heard, at the end of the visit of our relatives on October 23, that our friends in the Cankiri prison had been attacked. There was no time to loose. It was necessary to have a serious talk with the enemy. The enemy, who de facto wanted to use the isolation cells in Ceyhan at first, now also attacked in Cankiri. Making the preparations, we took our proposals to the prisoners from the other organizations. Our decision was made. We would carry out a occupation and take hostages... We moved, together with all the organizations which had participated in the previous actions. We took a director, 22 guards and 3 female guards hostage. Two female guards were taken hostage by the female revolutionary prisoners. But the action was not limited to that. The prison was taken under control, including a part of the administration building, by occupying the lower and the upper corridor and the block where the social prisoners remained. We had divided our forces over all the occupied areas in case there would be an attack. In the mean time we also released the social prisoners who had been in the isolation cells for months. However, we rejected the request of the social prisoners to take part in the action personally in this phase. We heard, through television and radio, that similar actions were carried out by our comrades in other prisons. This further increased our enthusiasm. The news was spread immediately to our friends in the corridor. At that moment we watched ourselves on television which particularly distorted the goal of the action. Television persistently spread the news that "the PKK prisoners had provoked a rebellion". However, the PKK prisoners were far remote from participating in the action. Especially Rehar Muhtar, the clown from SHOW TV, insisted on spreading this demagogy as news. We promised the director and the personal, taken hostage, that they wouldn't be harmed as long as there wouldn't be an attack, here or in another prison. During the time they were under our control, no negative incidents occurred and we fulfilled their needs as good as possible. We watched the situation outside from the roof and saw how soldiers and policemen were gathered. From time to time we could hear the slogans of our relatives outside. We answered them with our own slogans and were filled with joy to be one big family. Television showed the families in front of the military vehicles, telling the soldiers "You will not get in without running us over". Furthermore we could see the police attacks. On the one hand we were filled with joy about these images, on the other hand they filled us with rage. We were angry because the torturing murderers were attacking our families, our 70 year old mothers, our husbands and wives, our children, brothers and sisters. The eyes of all the prisoners betrayed the same thought: "You lowly bastards, why don't you come in and we will show you what it means to attack our mothers". The ones who couldn't see their own families on television were even angrier. - What love for your family means becomes clear in moments like this. Let them come in, I know what I'll tell them... - Don't talk like that. Maybe the camera just didn't catch them... - I hope that's the case. If not, it's over for me, I'll even tell them not to come anymore. - Look, aren't that your people? - Bravo, that's how a mother should be, for she is one of the Front-mothers... The hours quickly passed with spirit, going around with our comrades who weren't used to the prison yet, with the tired prisoners resting. In the front, rear and middle areas, as well as in the upper floors, comrades of ours stood guard and prepared for a possible counter-attack. When the lawyers arrived during the night and met the representatives, they were told that a solution could be found by releasing our friends in Ceyhan from the isolation cells and ending the attacks in Cakiri and Bergama. For that, it would be necessary for the department to talk with the Central Prison Committee. We saw how the increased their troops around the prison. We were prepared for everything. "Let them come, they'll see what that will get them", we thought. Maybe there would be casualties on our side, but we were sure that there would be some on their side too. We waited... concentrating on Cankiri, Bergama, Ceyhan, waiting and thinking of our comrades. At daybreak, the lawyers came by again. They brought the message from the Central Prison Committee. Soon after, the statement from the Central Prison Committee was reported on television. Finally the fax arrived which we had waited for. All who had participated in the action gathered in the corridor and danced the Halay. "Ugur, Mecit (murdered in Buca prison in 1995), Idil, Mujdat, Berdan, Ilginc and Yemo (among the 12 people who fell during the hungerstrike till death of 1996) are with us again. Apo, Hasan and Fatih (fallen in the hungerstrike till death of 1984) are lightning our way. We will proof worthy of them. We know we can only cross the isolation policy that way. We promise we will always keep their inheritance high". BURSA prison: The attacks against the revolutionary prisoners within the context of the isolation policy in Ceyhan prison were followed by others during protest action against them in the prisons of Cankiri and Bergama. The resistance grew and spread to Bursa as well where four guards were taken hostage. BAYRAMPASA prison: As a first step we informed the left about the attacks in Ceyhan and proposed to them to refuse the count as a form of protest. Except for the PKK, TIKB, TKP-ML. MLKP and TKP(ML), all organization participated in this action on October 20. The reason why they didn't take part wasn't that they opposed the actions, but that a representative of the TIKB forgot to inform them. Although we demanded to be informed about the Ceyhan prison, the prison administration refused, except for some generally unimportant facts. They tried to keep us busy. First, we demanded true information about Ceyhan. We were told there were no transfers in Ceyhan, that all our friends who had been in hospital were now back in prison, except for Semsettin Kalkan who had had an operation. The demands of the prisoners in Ceyhan were that they could return to their cells and that there would be no criminal investigation from the side of the authorities. Regarding Ceyhan prison, there were talks again with those responsible. The talks with Ferzan Citicim, the minister and the general director didn't lead to a solution of the problem. Soon after, there was an attack in Ceyhan, the Central Prison Co-ordination was convoked and we presented our proposals regarding the new developments. As a final conclusion regarding Ceyhan, we declared that we wanted the promise that our friends in Ceyhan were going to be released from the isolation cells and that we saw this situation as an attempt to push through the isolation policy because they refused to give such a promise. Therefore we proposed to start with actions like taking hostages, occupations and alike, demanding that the attacks in Cankiri prison were stopped. There was a joint decision reached after discussion but the MLKP prisoners declared they didn't want to take part, despite the fact that decisions of the Central Co-ordination are binding. They argued that "taking hostages does not concur with our central policies". The occupation of the corridor started at 5 p.m. with the participation of the HDOE, not a member of the Central Prison Co-ordination. At the start of the action, the PKK prisoners said "We want to be counted, stop the occupation action or take a break, we will call the direction for a count". One was busy for a long time with the provocative conduct of the PKK prisoners. In the end their demand was granted. But the direction didn't show up for the count. On the one hand, the discussions continued, on the other the enemy continued its attacks in several prisons. At that moment we heard that an attack was to be expected in Bergama. At a meeting that night we heard that the attacks in Cankiri had been stopped. A fax report arrived from Cankiri which stated that they were waiting for a message from here and the results of the negotiations in connection with Ceyhan. The prison director told us that the problem in Ceyhan had not been solved. We the repeated our demands. In the mean time we told the organizations in the Central Prison Co-ordination that the actions shouldn't be stopped without a message from the friends in Ceyhan. But this proposal was not accepted by all. After a while we were called again for a meeting in the administration building. There was a meeting between a delegation (consisting of the lawyer Behic Asci from the Halkin Hukuk Buerosu, the chairman of the CHD (Contemporary Lawyers Association), lawyer Murat Celik, the TOHAV (relatives), S. Okcuoglu and lawyer Muharrem Coepuer) and the prison director, on behalf of the department. After the demands were met, the action was ended in the name of the Central Prison Co-ordination. The press statement of the CMK (Central Prison Co-ordination): Our resistance, mounting in several prisons against the attacks which ended with the wounding of revolutionary prisoners in the Ceyhan prison and the transfer to isolation cells, was ended with the recognition of the demands of the prisoners in the course of the negotiations between the CMK and the representatives of the state. Here are the demands we put forward: 1. The isolation of the revolutionary prisoner in the Ceyhan prison must be canceled and they are to return to their former cells in the shortest possible time. 2. The old order in the Ceyhan prison is to be restored. 3. All the prisoners who have been wounded during the attack will receive medical treatment. 4. There will be no criminal inquiries against the prisoners. Central Prison Co-ordination (DHKP-C, TKP(ML), MLKP, TKP/ML, TIKB, TKEP/Leninist, Direnis Hareketi, HKG) and the THKP-C/HDOE prisoners in the Sagmalcilar prison. Despite the agreement with the department that the isolation policy, which they wanted to push through in the Ceyhan prison, will be canceled, they still want to implement it, according to the latest information. We know that the `Susurluk' state and all its representatives are insidious in this matter. But we are warning them. When this policy is not stopped, we will crush the prisons above their heads. As a warning in this matter, the prisoners of the DHKP-C, TIKB, TKP(ML), TKEP-L, TKP/ML. HKG, DH and MLKP refused the prisoners count in Sagmalcilar prison on October 29, 1998. One should not forget that this was merely a warning. --- Press Agency Ozgurluk For justice, democracy and human rights in Turkey and Kurdistan! Website: http://www.ozgurluk.org mailto:ozgurluk at xs4all.nl / mailinglists: petidomo at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl